Now Is The Time To Grasp The Nettle And Plan Ahead For Our Older People

Op-Ed by Séan Moynihan, CEO of ALONE

The recent cold snap proved once again the value of community, solidarity and co-operation. Across Ireland, neighbours and friends stood up to protect the most vulnerable from potentially life-changing hazards.

It’s great to live in a country where we can rely on one another in times of need. We at ALONE see that all year round; in 2024, we supported over 42,000 older people across our services, and a huge amount of that support was delivered by our volunteers. Ordinary citizens who give up a few hours a week to brighten the lives of older people.

The impact of severe cold doesn’t end when the thaw sets in. For some of us, a slip, trip or fall on an icy pavement means a moment’s embarrassment or a sprained ankle; for many older people, particularly those over 75, it can be a life-changing event. Some of the stats are sobering – 20% of older people who suffer a hip fracture will pass away within a year.

We also know that cold weather can exacerbate existing health conditions, and can make older people more vulnerable to lung infections, with potentially serious consequences. With over a quarter of older people living alone – often in older houses with lower BER ratings – the potential for tragic outcomes is obvious.

At ALONE, we always say that older people are their own best resource. Many older people would have memories of the winter freeze of 1962/63, or the Big Snow of 1982, and would have been through this before. But some challenges require that extra bit of support, particularly when the dangers are potentially life-threatening, and we at ALONE were proud of all our volunteers and staff who went the extra mile to keep older people safe.

You can’t always predict when an extreme weather event is going to push your resources to the limit (and let me just say that, for all the criticism online, Met Éireann’s warning system is a very important trigger and signal for support services in this country).

But we can predict the demographic change that’s going to make our rapidly ageing population more vulnerable to events like this in the future. By the time this government finishes its scheduled term, we’re going to have 900,000 older people living in this country. That’s a good thing – we’re living longer, healthier lives and being supported to do so.

But I can tell you here and now that we are not set up to meet the needs of an ageing population. Now is the time to grasp that nettle. As I write, political parties and independent TDs are mapping out the next Programme for Government.

Very few of the whispers reaching the public’s ears have mentioned our ageing population. That’s a big problem, because if we don’t plan for the major changes that need to be made in housing, healthcare, social care and a raft of other areas, we’re going to find ourselves caught on the hop in five or ten years, asking why we didn’t invest for the changed realities we all knew were coming.

The hospital trolleys crisis and the housing crisis – particularly the heartbreaking figures on homelessness – prove one thing; you cannot run a society in emergency mode forever.

We can all be proud of the steps we took to support our older and more vulnerable people through the cold snap, but to really make a difference, we need the full support of government. We need legislation and policy to build resilient support systems. We will always need the kindness of ordinary citizens and the community and voluntary sector, but those interventions can only go so far.

We know the scale of the challenge; we know what needs to be done, thanks to the research, experience and expertise of organisations like ALONE and many others in the sector. The final piece of the jigsaw, as with so much else in Irish society, is political will.

We need a government – whatever its make-up – with the will and the drive to act on the evidence and plan for the realities of an ageing population. That means building 123,000 new homes suitable for older people by 2040; it means putting in place a Commissioner for Older People to pull policy together and keep it on-track. It means taking our responsibilities to an ageing population seriously.

Because, before they know it, the parents building snowmen with their children today will be the older people watching the weather forecast and hoping our housing, transport and healthcare systems don’t let them down in a time of need.

We have the knowledge and resources to plan for that future, but the window is closing rapidly. Let’s see the politicians deliver, and let’s hold them to account to ensure that everyone can age safely at home in the years ahead.