Ageing: Republic of Ireland

The Situation in Brief

In the Republic of Ireland, services for older adults are often of poor quality with major gaps and the voice of older people in the development of public policy has traditionally been weak. The current economic downturn is placing increased constraints on government services and supports.

The Ageing Programme in the Republic of Ireland is focused on increasing public awareness of and addressing public policies related to the needs of Ireland’s older population. Our programme works to increase the capacity of key organisations in the age sector, who are seeking lasting positive change to the economic, health and social situation of older people, and to strengthen the capacity of older people to advocate for their own rights and needs.

The Ageing Programme works with organisations active across the age sector, from those looking at policy and services in dementia and mental health among older adults, to advocacy organisations made up of older adults, who seek to protect or improve government services for older adults. To accomplish this, the programme aims to enrich the evidence base on the ageing population and expand and strengthen the ageing sector in the Republic of Ireland.

Ageing Programme Goals in the Republic of Ireland

• Improve economic and health security through advocacy and policy 
• Strengthen the voice of older adults 
• Build a more enduring capacity in the age sector
  

Ageing Resources 

• Active Retirement Ireland, www.activeirl.ie
• Age & Opportunity, www.olderinireland.ie 
• Ageing Well Network, www.ageingwellnetwork.ie
• Carers Association, www.carersireland.com
• Older & Bolder, www.olderandbolder.ie 
• Senior Help Line, www.seniorhelpline.ie
• The Alzheimer Society of Ireland, www.alzheimer.ie 
• The Irish Centre for Social Gerontology, NUI Galway, www.icsg.ie 
• The Irish Senior Citizens Parliament, www.seniors.ie 
• The Social Policy and Ageing Research Centre, www.sparc.tcd.ie

Facts at a Glance

• The proportion of people in Ireland aged 65 years or older is projected to increase from 11% of the overall population in 2006 to 20% by 2036.¹
• The greatest increase will be in people over 80 – the “oldest old” – a group that will quadruple in size by 2041.² 
• In 2005, life expectancy at birth for Irish men was 77.3 years and for women 81.7, and Irish men and women at 65 had higher life expectancies than the EU 27 averages. ³ 
• In 2006, 66% of older people were living in private households with other people, just over 25% were living alone and 5.5% were living in nursing homes.⁵
• Depression affects about one in ten people over 65, making it the most common of the mental health disorders of later life.⁴

Footnotes

¹Source: Ageing in Ireland, Central Statistics Office (CSO), 2007, www.cso.ie.
² Source: Ageing in Ireland, CSO 2007.
³ Source: Ageing in Ireland, CSO 2007.
⁴ Source: Aware South East, Depression in Later Life, www.awaresoutheast.com.
⁵ Source: Ageing in Ireland, CSO 2007.