The New Agenda on Ageing: To Make Ireland the Best Country to Grow Old In

The Irish government has committed to introducing a National Positive Ageing Strategy, but what exactly is the nature of the problem we are trying to solve?

• Firstly, the quality of life of too many of our older people is poor. This report from the Ageing Well Network, launched at the New Agenda on Ageing Conference, highlights the many ways in which this is the case, provides evidence of the extent and nature of those problems and explores ways in which they can be addressed.
• Secondly, the scale of the projected increase in the number of older people will require long-term planning to ensure that we have the systems, structures and supports that address the challenges of health, care and income security, while ‘exploiting’ fully the demographic dividend’.
• Thirdly, people reaching the normal age of retirement are, in general, healthy and active. They have a life-time’s wisdom and experience and seek a life of purpose, balanced with leisure, social connections and contribution to the lives of their communities. We need to create a new way of thinking about our later years. We need to create new opportunities and a new language to underpin a whole new approach.

Based on evidence from research, consultations with older people and the views of ‘experts’ in the field, this report seeks to set out the Key Issues for a National Positive Ageing Strategy.

Ageing Well Network is an Atlantic grantee.