Fine Gael Policy Lab makes submission to Commission on Care for Older People

The Fine Gael Policy Lab has proposed a new vision for Positive Ageing in Ireland in its submission to the Commission on Care for Older People.

An independent Commission on Care for Older People was established as part of the Programme for Government. The Commission is charged with examining the provision of health and social care services and supports for older people and will make recommendations to the government for their strategic development.

The Fine Gael Policy Lab, a group that allows a wide range of people to shape its policies, have outlined ten recommendations that account for the enormous value that longer, healthier lives can add to society:

• Establish a Commissioner for Positive Ageing to track progress in delivering a vision of Positive Ageing for Ireland.
• Mandate the Workplace Relations Commission to enhance workplace practice around flexible exit options and better in-work preparation for retirement.
• Establish a County Freshers’ Week each year in September to connect retiring people to opportunities.
• A Positive Ageing Community Innovation Fund should be established to support innovation within the community in critical areas like travel, loneliness, community safety and intergenerational connections.
• Local Care Partnerships should be created where family carers can register to share experiences and information; and to develop flexible arrangements with statutory bodies and community networks to respond to particular pressures.
• A Housing Trust should be established to promote rightsizing for people who want more suitable accommodation, and to promote suitably located clusters with access to support services.
• An audited Age Friendly Mark should be developed for clubs, businesses, and any premises open to the public, and an audited Dignity in Care mark for all health settings.
• A Homecare Development Agency should be established to develop the sector and offer better options to remain independent in your own community.
• Health insurers should be encouraged to keep their clients healthy.
• A Disruptive Innovation Project should be created to identify how predictive analytics, health screening, smart personal technologies, remote delivery, eHealth records, and in-home technologies can be harnessed to deliver better preventative interventions.

Deputy Richard Bruton, Vice Chairperson of the Fine Gael Policy Lab, said: “Today, Irish citizens have the longest life expectancy in the EU, and children born in Ireland today will live 25 years longer than those born 100 years ago.

“The growing number of older people brings wonderful opportunities for our country; however, we are not treating this demographic change with the seriousness or urgency that it deserves.

“The demographic change facing Ireland, which will see our population grow older, should compel us to tackle this policy challenge with urgency and enthusiasm. We need to recognise that life after retirement can be connected, active, and independent, just as it was for people before.

“I urge the Commission to take these findings seriously, and to recognise that a radical reorientation of our existing policy approach to ageing must occur if the State is to meet the challenges of the future”.

The Fine Gael Policy Lab is hopeful that the Commission will carefully consider their recommendations on a topic that is so vitally important.