Ireland’s age-friendly nature was celebrated this week, with the country being recognised as one of the world’s best places to grow old.
On Monday, December 16th, a ceremony at Slane Castle in County Meath formally recognised Ireland as one of the best places to grow old in.
Representatives from all of the State’s 31 local authorities received charters from the World Health Organisation (WHO), which acknowledged the work that each of them has done and the role that they have played in the age-friendly programme in partnership with stakeholders such as the public, businesses, and community/non-government sectors.
However, this was not the first time Ireland has received praise and acknowledgement from the World Health Organisation. Last April, Ireland was recognised by the World Health Organisation as being the first country in the world to successfully achieve complete membership across all of its administrative areas in accordance with its age-friendly programme initiative.
Ireland’s older population is increasing
Ireland’s overall population has been getting increasingly older and older since the 1980s, with the over-65 age demographic group increasing by a high of 19% between the years of 2011 and 2016.
The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) predicts that the number of people aged 65 and over will increase from 629,800 in 2016 to a potential of almost 1.6 million by the year 2051.
Furthermore, a recent spending review by the Department of Public Expenditure revealed that more than 250,000 of Irish citizens will be over 80 years old by 2031.
In anticipation of these increases in Ireland’s older population, The Age-Friendly Ireland Programme was created 10 years ago and has been in operation ever since. The aim of the programme is for every local authority area in Ireland to ensure that Ireland becomes one of the best places to grow old in.
Age-friendly Irish society
Since it’s clear that Ireland’s older population is increasing, many things have been developed and put in place to ensure that Irish society in the future will be suitable and accommodating for the oldest members in society.
This has been ensured through actions such as the development of age-friendly facilities such as housing developments, libraries, airport guidelines, and car parking facilities, as well as ensuring that everything else in the public domain can be as age-friendly as possible.
Future-proofing Ireland with the Age-Friendly Ireland programme
The Age-Friendly Ireland Programme is successfully future-proofing Irish society to deal with the growth of Ireland’s ageing population across all sectors such as public and community services, academia and businesses. Each of the 31 local authorities is expected to streamline their practices in line with the interests and requirements of the older generation.
Healthy lifestyle is key
The Age-Friendly Ireland Programme is seen as a key World Health Organisation strategy as it will enable the ever-increasing older generation to be able to continue to be active within their community.
This will help to keep older people healthy and active for longer and will also provide support to those who are no longer in a feasible position to look after themselves.
With all of these initiatives in place, it looks like the future is bright for Ireland’s older generation and that Ireland will continue to be one of the best places to grow old in.
