Active Retirement Ireland

07/10/2026

📣 Shingles vaccination: Minister commits to extending free access to people aged 65 and over through a five-year rollout 📣

At today’s post-budget health briefing, Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD outlined a five-year shingles vaccination programme, beginning in June 2027 with people who are immunocompromised, followed by people aged 80 and over, and progressively extending access down to those aged 65 and over.

Active Retirement Ireland welcomes this commitment and thanks the Minister for progressing publicly funded access to shingles vaccination.

Our petition carried 31,196 signatures calling for free access for everyone aged 65 and over. Thank you to everyone who signed, shared their experiences and supported the campaign.

We know many members want access sooner. We await the precise eligibility criteria and timetable for each age group, and will continue pressing for accessible and equitable delivery.

Our members raised their voices and we will keep working to turn this commitment into access.

07/10/2026

📺 Shingles vaccination: Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD confirms rollout on RTÉ One's Prime Time

Our National President, Mai Quaid, appeared on RTÉ’s Prime Time last night and asked Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill directly to confirm that a shingles vaccination programme would be rolled out. The Minister confirmed that the programme would begin with people aged 85 and over and people who are immunocompromised.

Active Retirement Ireland warmly welcomes this commitment. We thank Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD for committing to a publicly funded shingles vaccination programme and responding directly to older people’s concerns.

This is an important step for our campaign and for the 31,196 people who signed our petition calling for free access to shingles vaccination for everyone aged 65 and over.

❤️ Thank you to Mai Quaid, National President of Active Retirement Ireland, for representing older people’s voices, and to every member and supporter who signed, shared their experiences and helped keep this issue on the agenda.

For too many older people, access to this vaccine has depended on their ability to pay. A publicly funded programme offers the opportunity to remove that barrier and protect people from a painful condition that can have lasting consequences.

Introducing access in phases has also been used by NHS England to expand shingles vaccination. We welcome this first step in Ireland and will continue seeking a clear timetable for extending free access to everyone aged 65 and over.

The commitment to a rollout is now confirmed; further delivery details are still awaited. We need clarity on the start date, the eligibility criteria for immunocompromised people and the timetable for wider access. The Minister is expected to hold her health budget briefing later today, when we hope further details will be provided.

Active Retirement Ireland will continue advocating for accessible and equitable delivery, and we will update members as further details are confirmed.

📺 Watch Mai’s exchange with Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill on last night’s RTÉ Prime Time here: https://www.rte.ie/player/series/prime-time/SI0000000825?epguid=IH10016313-26-0068

06/10/2026

📣 Budget 2027 📣

Today, 6 October, media coverage and public statements from TDs have pointed to positive news on shingles vaccination in Budget 2027.

The The Irish Sun reported: “Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill secured funding in the budget to roll out free shingles vaccines for immunocompromised groups.” Its report also refers to people with underlying conditions and those over 65.

RTÉ News now reports that a phased programme is expected to begin next year, initially for people over 65 who are immunocompromised, before gradually expanding over time to all over-65s. Health Correspondent Fergal Bowers reports that a pricing proposal is being assessed by the Department of Health, with further details on timing and initial eligibility potentially available at tomorrow’s Government health budget briefing.

Colm Burke TD and Paula Butterly TD have both (today) publicly outlined the phased introduction of a major shingles vaccination programme for over-65s.

Active Retirement Ireland welcomes this positive news. We await further details from Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD confirming eligibility, funding, the start date and how the phased rollout will work.

❤️ THANK YOU to the 31,196 people who signed our petition calling for free access for everyone aged 65 and over, and to everyone who shared their experiences and supported the campaign. We will continue pressing for accessible and equitable delivery.

Other Budget 2027 measures announced today that affect older people include:

💶 Pensions: A €10 weekly increase, bringing the maximum personal State Pension (Contributory) rate to €309.30.

🏠 Living Alone Increase: A €3 weekly increase to €25, matching ARI’s specific ask.

🔥 Fuel Allowance: An increase to €43 a week, with the income threshold for single pensioners rising from €534 to €641 a week.

🎄 Christmas Bonus: Payment in the week beginning 7 December.

🤝 Home support: An additional 1.8 million hours, bringing the total to 28.5 million in 2027.

🍲 Community supports: Five additional Care and Repair service locations and Meals on Wheels funding rising to over €10 million.

🌡️ Energy and warmer homes: Increased investment in the Warmer Homes Scheme and enhanced retrofit and renewable-energy grants, including a boiler scrappage scheme. Other energy measures outlined include reduced carbon tax on kerosene and natural gas and continued fuel excise reductions until February.

💜 Carers: Weekly payments rising by €10, with Carer’s Allowance income disregards increasing to €1,150 for a single person and €2,300 for a couple. A €100 increase to the Home Carer Tax Credit has also been outlined.

♿ Disability supports: A new €500 Cost of Disability Payment, with the Minister aiming for payment by the end of March 2027 or as early as possible. We are seeking clarity on eligibility, including for older people receiving long-term disability payments.

👐 Disability services: An additional 191,000 home-support and personal-assistance hours, 489 residential care packages, 1,500 new day-service places, increased respite and additional staff. These hours are separate from the older-person home-support allocation above.

🚌 Mobility: The launch of a Vehicle Adaptation Scheme and investment in public transport. Eligibility and delivery details for the new scheme are still needed.

🕊️ Bereavement: The continuation of pension payments following a partner’s death will extend from six weeks to ten.

🏘️ Tax and housing: We are reviewing the detail of changes to income tax, rent tax credits, inheritance tax and savings and investment taxation, and what they will mean for older people in different circumstances.

☎️ Public services: €17 million for the Digital Transformation Fund. ARI will continue seeking accessible telephone, paper and face-to-face options alongside digital services.

These measures bring welcome support, but gaps remain.

The pension increase does not establish ARI’s requested benchmark of 34% of average weekly earnings, or a formal mechanism linking pension rates to wages and inflation. We have also not seen an announced extension of Fuel Allowance to 32 weeks or an increase to the Household Benefits Package.

Active Retirement Ireland will continue seeking clarity on delivery and progress on dental care, routine hearing tests, screening access, healthcare costs, medical card eligibility, and non-digital access to services.

We will update members as further details are confirmed.

02/10/2026

📢 As we wait to see whether Budget 2027 on 6 October will include funding for a publicly funded national shingles vaccination programme, Active Retirement Ireland has formally presented its petition carrying 31,196 signatures at Leinster House.

ARI’s National President Mai Quaid, CEO Fran Brennan, and Head of Policy & Advocacy Alison Bough, presented the petition to Colm Burke TD, who has been a strong public supporter of our call for the shingles vaccine to be made available free of charge through the HSE to everyone aged 65 and over, as well as to immunocompromised people.

The vaccine currently costs approximately €480–€500 privately, placing it beyond the reach of many people. Access to preventative healthcare should never depend on someone’s ability to pay.

We thank Deputy Burke for meeting with us, accepting the petition and continuing to raise this important issue.

Our message to Government and our Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD, ahead of Budget 2027 is clear: 31,196 people have called for action. It is time to fund a fair and accessible national shingles vaccination programme.

01/10/2026

Yesterday, our National President Mai Quaid and Head of Policy and Advocacy Alison Bough met with Colm Kincaid, Deputy Governor for Consumer and Investor Protection, at the Central Bank of Ireland.

Active Retirement Ireland contributed to the National Payments Strategy consultation in 2024, highlighting the importance of access to cash and choice in how people pay. Since then, the Finance (Provision of Access to Cash Infrastructure) Act 2025 has put a framework in place to protect access to cash. The Central Bank of Ireland now publishes regional information and has a process for people to report gaps in their local area.

Mai and Alison discussed what this means for Active Retirement Ireland's 24,000+ members. An ATM may be nearby on a map, but it still needs to be easy to reach, accessible and working when someone needs it. People also need places where they can pay with cash.

They also discussed online banking and fraud prevention. Some members bank online with confidence; others need support or prefer to manage their money in person. Everyone should be able to get clear information and speak to someone when they need help, while remaining in control of their own finances.

It is encouraging to see the Central Bank engaging with organisations like ARI and listening to the lived experiences of older people. We look forward to continuing this conversation on behalf of our members.

24/09/2026

Ireland is projected to have more than one million people aged 65 and over by 2030. Ireland must prepare its health system now.

That is just four years away. Four years.

This week, our Head of Policy & Advocacy, Alison Bough, joined Professor Rónán Collins, National Stroke Lead, Clinical Director and Consultant Geriatrician at Tallaght University Hospital; Dr Emer Ahern, National Clinical Advisor and Group Lead for Older Persons, and Consultant Trauma and Orthogeriatrician at Cork University Hospital; Dr Sheelah Connolly, Associate Research Professor at the ESRI; Dr Martin Daly TD, TD for Roscommon–Galway and General Practitioner; and Dr Graham Love, Partner at Forvis Mazars, for a panel discussion at Pfizer’s Well into the Future: Preparing Ireland’s Health System for an Ageing Population event at the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland.

Our National President, Mai Quaid, and Board members Mary Daly and Tom Harrison represented Active Retirement Ireland at the event, which brought together policymakers, healthcare professionals, researchers, patient advocates and older people’s organisations to consider how Ireland can prepare its health system for a rapidly ageing population. The discussion was facilitated by broadcaster Pat Kenny.

Alison spoke about the urgent need to move from a predominantly reactive healthcare system towards one that prioritises prevention throughout the life course. This includes greater investment in primary and community care, early intervention, rehabilitation and home support. She said:

“We must challenge this deeply unhelpful ‘bed blockers’ narrative. Older people do not cause hospital-capacity crises. Too often, they are being failed by a system that has not provided timely preventative care, rehabilitation, home support or an appropriate pathway out of hospital. Older people are not simply users of public services. They continue to contribute enormously as unpaid carers, childminders, volunteers, workers and community leaders.”

New research by Forvis Mazars, commissioned by Pfizer Healthcare Ireland and launched at the event, found that RSV accounted for approximately 18,734 acute hospital bed days among older adults in 2025. Under its central scenario, this is projected to rise to 23,975 bed days by 2031, with almost two-thirds of the demand likely to occur within just ten weeks each winter.

Active Retirement Ireland continues to advocate for a clear, evidence-based and publicly accessible vaccination schedule for older adults. An older person should not need to be a public-health expert to know what protection they need: the system should invite them, inform them and also make that protection financially accessible.

We will also continue to advance the case that prevention, rather than cure, must become central to Ireland's health policy. Investing earlier can help people remain healthy, in their own homes, active, and independent, reduce avoidable hospital admissions and has the potential to save the Irish Government millions in preventable healthcare costs.

23/09/2026

Yesterday, Active Retirement Ireland joined our fellow members of the Alliance of Age Sector NGOs in Leinster House for the launch of Taking Stock: Is Government keeping its commitments to older people?

The report reviews 27 Government of Ireland commitments across 17 areas affecting older people. Although some welcome progress has been made, the findings show that implementation remains inconsistent and that many important commitments have still not been meaningfully advanced.

The Alliance is calling for:

✅ An Independent Commissioner for Ageing and Older People
✅ A refreshed National Positive Ageing Strategy with a clear implementation plan, monitoring and ring-fenced funding
✅ Benchmarking of the State Pension
✅ A properly resourced national action plan to address loneliness and social isolation
✅ Coordinated action across Government to combat ageism and support positive ageing

Thank you to Senator Fiona O'Loughlin for hosting the launch and to the Oireachtas members who attended or were represented.

The report itself was a real team effort involving all eight Alliance members: Active Retirement Ireland, Age & Opportunity, ALONE Ireland, The Alzheimer Society of Ireland, COPE Galway, Irish Hospice Foundation, Irish Senior Citizens Parliament and Third Age.

We are grateful to Community Foundation Ireland, whose support makes the work of the Alliance possible.

You can read the full report here: https://www.copegalway.ie/what-we-do/advocacy-and-policy/age-sector-alliance/ -Stock-Report

14/09/2026

More positive news on our shingles vaccine campaign. Following Friday’s comments from Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, the Irish Examiner is now reporting that the rollout of a shingles vaccination programme is expected to be included in Budget 2027.

The report says the Minister is prioritising vaccination and is confident that funding can be secured for the introduction of a shingles vaccine programme. It also reports that the scale of the rollout will depend on the funding secured, with a phased introduction expected.

This is a very significant development and one that Active Retirement Ireland warmly welcomes.

31,196 people signed our petition calling for the shingles vaccine to be made available through HSE Ireland to people aged 65 and over. We have consistently argued that the current cost puts protection out of reach for too many older people.

There is still work to do. Our call remains clear: publicly funded shingles vaccination should be available to everyone aged 65+.

We will continue to make that case as Budget 2027 approaches.

Thank you again to every single person who signed, shared and supported our campaign. Your voices are being heard.

Read the Irish Examiner report here:
https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/politics/arid-41909899.html

Meanwhile, the Government is considering applying different tax rates to home heating oil and petrol and diesel

11/09/2026

A significant development in our shingles vaccine campaign.

In an interview published in The Irish Times today, Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has indicated that the Government is looking at publicly funding the shingles vaccine for some groups.

The article states:

“She also revealed plans to make the shingles vaccine, which currently costs over €480, available through public funding for some cohorts. She wants to see ‘whether it’s possible to reach a commercial agreement to fund it in the initial stages, maybe for the over-80s and the immunocompromised’.”

Active Retirement Ireland welcomes this important step forward. 31,196 people signed our petition calling for the shingles vaccine to be made available through the HSE to people aged 65 and over.

We will continue to make the case for publicly funded vaccination for everyone aged 65+. Cost should not be a barrier to protecting older people from shingles and its potentially serious and long-lasting complications.

This is progress — and we will keep pushing for wider access.

Read the full interview in The Irish Times (subscription required): https://www.irishtimes.com/health/2026/09/11/jennifer-carroll-macneill-i-worried-whether-i-had-the-objectivity-to-be-minister-for-health/

Eleven years after her son’s neonatal brain injury at birth, the Minister has met many women going through similar trauma

09/09/2026

Welcome to the draw for the 2026 Active Retirement Ireland National Bowls Competition, sponsored by Spry Finance.