ALONE urges parties to prioritise our ageing population in Programme for Government.

Dublin, 10th Jan 2025: ALONE, the organisation which supported over 42,000 older people to age at home last year, is urging parties and TDs to prioritise our ageing population in talks on a new Programme for Government. 

“This isn’t an optional extra”, said ALONE CO Seán Moynihan. “Our rapidly ageing population is a fact of life, and it’s something we need to address legislatively. There are challenges and opportunities here, and the most important thing is that we don’t end up pointing fingers and asking why we didn’t address this five or ten years down the line” 

“This programme for government is a chance to bake in those much-needed changes to the way our society works”, Moynihan continued, “to take account of that ageing population. There were some very interesting proposals in parties’ manifestos – and, it must also be said, a lot of commitments that weren’t fulfilled by the last government. Now is the time to act on them to make sure that people can age safely and with dignity in the way we all deserve. We have many strategies but need commitments to act in this programme”. 

ALONE’s seven key asks to transform ageing at home in Ireland have been circulated among all TDs, and the blueprint for our ageing population has been well received. Core elements of the plan include: 

• A Commissioner for Older People to work across Government to ensure policy implementation for our ageing population.  

• Benchmark the State Pension and other benefits to ensure older people’s incomes keep pace with the increasing cost of living  

• A fully funded strategy to combat loneliness in Ireland.  

• A plan for the broad spectrum of housing needs of older people 

• Measures to reduce energy poverty among older people, including reforming SEAI grants 

• Better access and funding to the range of community health and social care services 

• Legislation to safeguard all sections of the population against abuse 

“We’ve had some very positive soundings across all parties”, said Moynihan, “and we’re very hopeful that these pragmatic measures will make it into the Programme for Government, and that they’ll inform the terms of debate – on both government and opposition benches – throughout the lifetime of this Dáil. If we do not intervene now older people will pay a high price now and in the years to come”. 

Ireland’s population is projected to grow by 800,000 people by 2040, with the largest demographic growth – an extra 500,000 people – aged 65 and over. The needs of a growing demographic cut across all policy areas.  

On the housing front, the last census showed an 83% rise in the numbers of older people renting, and ALONE’s own research reveals that 25% of those engaging with ALONE do not own their own home – a situation current social trends will only exacerbate in decades to come. 

Additionally, almost 60% of older people contacting ALONE describe themselves as lonely, with significant social and health impacts for Irish society. Moynihan is urging the incoming government to draw on the available expertise in tackling these issues. 

“We here at ALONE are working with older people nationwide on a daily basis, we’re listening, engaging and basing our asks on that evidence. All our research, all our expertise, our direct conduit into the needs of older people living alone, are available to the incoming government.” 

“Now is the time to listen to those voices and to listen to those needs – we know what the trends of the future look like, let’s start shaping that future while we have the chance, the knowledge and the resources to do it”, Moynihan concluded.