Sustained economic growth, innovation and a positive attitude will help us deal with ageing, writes Mary Harney.
'We are all ageing from the day we are born". This was a simple message at a conference the Progressive Democrats organised recently. Ageing is not just for the old. Issues about ageing are issues for all of us.
Two hundred years ago, life expectancy was 35. Now it's nearly 80. This is great progress.
There are about 425,000 people over 65 in Ireland now. This will be 818,000 by 2030 and will reach 1.1 million by 2050. The proportion of the population over 65 will rise from 11 per cent presently to 24 per cent.
Analysts say our overall cost of pensions and health could increase by about 7 per cent of GDP. Much of this would be public expenditure. In today's money, that represents nearly all our health budget, €10 billion.
Some people worry greatly about the future "burden" and "financial strain" of ageing. In psychology, this is called "catastrophising". Others have called it "apocalyptic demography". This attitude will get us nowhere. We can do without negative language like "burden", "threat", "strain" and "dependency".
To meet the financial challenge of ageing Ireland, it's essential to sustain economic growth. Clearly, this is a matter for everyone, not just for older people.
Policy innovation for an ageing Ireland will benefit us all, and not just later in life. The ban on smoking in the workplace is a specific example, a win for today's and tomorrow's Ireland.
Our conference heard that many improvements in services for older people could be implemented with little or no extra cost, if the views of older people themselves are taken fully into account.
In relation to employment, I favour more choice for older people. There is a clear demand from today's older people to be allowed to work beyond 65, if they so choose. People want retirement to be gradual and less like falling over a cliff. In the Ireland of 2030, I expect people will work in much more flexible patterns. Employment practices and pension rules will have changed. Making those changes is the challenge for us.
We also have to combat insidious age discrimination, including in medicine. It's medically and morally wrong to say it's not worth spending money on treatments for older people.
Our conference was told that many medicines are relatively more effective in older people than younger people. We were told that the clear majority of older people at any age are not sick and do not suffer from dementia. Ninety per cent live in the community, not in hospitals or institutions. Health care costs are not driven by age itself, but by care in the final weeks of life and new technology. People do not become a "burden" on health care finance just because they live longer.
There can be no excuses for rationing of health care for the over-65s on account of their age.
The built environment is very important for ageing. We do not have a strong public tradition in this country of valuing design engineering and science solutions. But there are innovations we can make. Houses can be designed in a more modular way to cater for changing life stages. There are simple design issues about door openings, bathrooms, the speed and use of lifts in small housing blocks and sound insulation standards.
The question also arises, are we planning for ageing if we build one-bedroom apartments? Where will a family member, a friend or a carer stay in a one-bedroom apartment? Older people do not want isolation. Our housing in 30 years' time should meet the needs of our population then.
We tend not to think that broadband is an issue for ageing Ireland, but information technology will provide much more than today's neck alarm buttons for people living alone. The cost of long-term care is an issue for many families and for the State, and not just in relation to older people.
A report on the Nursing Home Subvention Scheme by Prof Eamon O'Shea, released last summer, rightly said we should encourage more community and home care, and that new funding arrangements should be put in place for this. There should be a fairer share for those who care.
More care in the community requires a very effective partnership between families and State services. An over-reliance on one or the other won't work. Many people saw the events of last summer's heatwave on the continent, where old and dying people were abandoned in hospitals as the result of an over-reliance on the State and a failure by families to meet their responsibilities.
The vast majority of families in Ireland are caring in regard to older relatives. But in some cases, older people are abandoned by their families. When neglectful family members still expect to inherit assets from their relative, there is something amiss. The rest of society cannot be indifferent to this.
We have to be very cautious about law in this sensitive area, where individual circumstances differ so much. Providing incentives, choice and options for older people and for carers will be the best approach.
It will certainly not help to play politics and misrepresent the views of people who contribute to debate, as the leader of the Labour Party has tried to do with my comments.
Overall, we can look at ageing Ireland and get worried about finance or medicine or care. Or we can reflect on the great progress we've made and work with optimism and innovation for the future.
That's the approach I favour.
Mary Harney is the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment