Although older citizens in Ireland face a range of issues with respect to their health, income, and security, the question must be asked: How do the elderly in Ireland fare in comparison to other nations? Indeed, is Ireland a good place to grow old?
Help is at hand: The Global AgeWatch Index ranks countries by how well their older populations are faring, ranking 96 countries in terms of older people’s social and economic wellbeing, thus representing some 91 per cent of people over 60 across the world. It is the only global index to rank countries according to the social and economic wellbeing of older people.
The Index measures the social and economic wellbeing of older people in the 96 countries in terms of their income security (pension income coverage, poverty rate in old age, relative welfare of older people, GDP per capita), health status (life expectancy, healthy life expectancy, psychological wellbeing), capability (employment and education), and enabling environment (social connections, physical safety, civic freedom and access to transport).
How does Ireland fare?
According to the Index, Ireland ranks high on the Index at 17 overall, ranking consistently high in all domains. It performs best in the enabling environment domain (16), with the highest regional values in the social connectedness indicator (95 per cent). It ranks similarly on the health domain (17), with values slightly above the regional averages for healthy life expectancy at 60 and psychological wellbeing. In the income security domain it ranks at 20, with values slightly below the regional averages on the pension income coverage (90.5) and old age poverty rate (7.6 per cent) indicators, although it has a high GDP per capita compared to the region. Ireland’s lowest rank is in the capability domain at 34, with a significant negative change in value for the employment rate indicator.
Pensions
The level of pension coverage at 90.5 per cent is reflective of the fact that individuals are entitled to a state pension at 66 years of age. However, access to occupational and personal pensions is uneven primarily due to the fact that there is no mandatory second-tier system for workers. The incidence of poverty amongst older people in Ireland is not as pronounced as for other groups. However, in 2012 the EU Survey on Income and Living Conditions found that the ‘at risk’ of poverty rate for those age 65 years and over was 12.1 per cent, which is an increase on previous years. In the past number of years the Government has protected the rate of the State Pension. However, the introduction of a number of charges such as the property tax and forthcoming water charges along with cuts to secondary supports such as the Household Benefit Packages have meant that many older people find it increasingly difficult to make ends meet.
Health
Chronic conditions become more common with increasing age and are a major cause of morbidity and death in Ireland. With the population ageing, the incidences of chronic conditions such as heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and musculoskeletal pain are projected to increase by around 40 per cent by 2020.In the past number of years there have been significant cuts to health services and budgets. In particular, primary care services are being reduced by 102 million euro in 2014 alone. Critically, community services that keep older people well and managing in their homes are mostly inaccessible.
Work
The percentage of workers aged 60 to 64 years who are unemployed remains steady at around 10 per cent. However, much of the focus of the Government’s employment strategy has been focused on younger workers. An objective of the National Positive Ageing Strategy is to promote access to a wide range of opportunities for continued learning and education for older people. However, an implementation plan to deliver the many objectives of this strategy is still outstanding.
‘The free travel’
Upon reaching the age of 66 years, individuals receive a Free Travel Pass which allows them to travel for free on all public transport services and with some private operators. A survey carried out by Age Action earlier this year indicates that older people see this as a vital support in terms of enabling them to participate in a range of community activities, visit family and friends, and engage in economic activities such as shopping and taking short breaks. However, for those in rural areas services are often patchy and disjointed.
Security
Security and safety is an important issue for older people in Ireland. Many people have pendant alarms which are run through a connection to their landline. However, in last year’s budget the telephone allowance was abolished and many older people cancelled their landlines, meaning that they can no longer use their panic alarms.
