If we do not reach positive conclusions about the place of older people in society, we will not make appropriate provision for them, writes Bob Carroll
Although Ireland is still a comparatively youthful country, in common with most other developed nations its population is beginning to age and will do so significantly within a relatively short period. Currently, some 450,000 of the population are aged 65 or over, but by the year 2021 it is projected that the number of older people in the population will be as high as 700,000.
We are now at a crossroads in terms of how society determines and regulates its relationship with its older citizens. Vision and leadership are required to ensure that that we take the right direction towards the creation of a society that enhances people's quality of life as they grow older; one that optimises opportunities for health, participation and security for older people; and that recognises and values the vital contribution that older people make to their families, their communities and to Irish society as a whole.
In that context, the National Council on Ageing and Older People is launching an appeal for the development of an age-friendly society in Ireland. This appeal is addressed to every citizen irrespective of age, to the organs of the State, to public, private and voluntary agencies, as well as to communities of all kinds throughout the country.
It is an appeal from the heart and the head in response to recent events, which have called into question our commitment to the development of a society which respects, cherishes and includes its older citizens as equals.
It is also an appeal to consider and agree as a society the respective roles that the State, enterprises, the family, the community and the individual must play to maintain and develop the independence, self-fulfilment and participation of older people in the years ahead. It is an appeal to make adequate plans and provisions for an ageing population, in particular to address the serious health and social care deficits that specifically affect older people.
In the light of recent disturbing revelations, it is an appeal for informed discussion and national consensus on how care of the highest quality can be made available to those older people who are most frail and vulnerable in our society.
In 2002 the UN World Assembly adopted a plan of action on ageing. In the political declaration accompanying the plan, representatives of world governments, including Ireland, stated that the purpose of the plan is to respond to the opportunities and challenges of population ageing in the 21st century and to promote the development of "a society for all ages".
A society for all ages is the foundation of an age-friendly society. In such a society, the interdependence of generations and of individuals is emphasised; diversity is recognised; the identity, values and beliefs of the individual are protected; and social cohesion is fostered through the adoption of socially-inclusive policies and practices. In a society for all ages, the generations are valued equally, and inter-generational solidarity is part of the social contract.
In such a society a life-course perspective is adopted by all authorities; there is consistency and equity in the treatment of all citizens; and risks are pooled between and within generations. In calling for an age-friendly society in Ireland, the council does not seek preferential treatment for older people. Rather, it calls for a society in which older persons are treated with equal dignity and respect by the organs of the State, as well as by their fellow citizens; one in which their independence will not be compromised by inequality of opportunity and their participation in the activities of society will not be denied by differential conditions of access based on age.
There can be little doubt about the challenges that lie ahead. Perhaps the most serious barrier to the creation of such a society is the ageism that permeates our culture: negative attitudes to ageing, stereotyping of older people, discriminatory practices that exclude older people from services or other benefits of society.
A debate on older people in Irish society will include discussion about long-term care.Such a debate must not lose sight of the social, psychological and spiritual needs of older people in long-term care, in particular their need for continuing contact with family members, friends an neighbours. Inevitably too, dilemmas in decision-making about the financing of long-term care raise important questions for society, such as who is responsible for providing care for older people: the State, the for-profit sector, older people themselves, or their families?.
Should publicly-funded support be universally available or available only to older people with low incomes/assets?If we, as a society, do not debate these questions and reach positive conclusions about the place of older people in society, we will not make appropriate legislative and financial provisions for them. Such provisions are required to promote the independence and dignity of older people in the face of ageist attitudes on the one hand, and failing health or reduced capacity on the other.
Bob Carroll is director of the National Council on Ageing and Older People