Background
As in all other countries in the world, the population of Ireland is ageing. (In Ireland by 2041: 1 in 4 of the population will be over 65 the number of over 80s will increase by 400%) To plan for this, in 2013 the Department of Health published the National Positive Ageing Strategy. The Strategy sets out a vision for an age-friendly society through the achievement of four national goal
s (participation, health, security and research). It recognises that all sectors of society - government, businesses, voluntary groups, service providers, local authorities and the general public - have a part to play in creating an age-friendly society. The Strategy allocates lead responsibility for its Priority Action Areas to various Government Departments and agencies. It also sets out the need for local joint working structures to complement this national-level activity, since many of the factors that contribute to a good quality of life for older people are community-based. Role of Age Friendly Ireland
Established in January 2014 as an intermediary organisation, Age Friendly Ireland coordinates the national Age Friendly Cities and Counties Programme. The Programme brings together, supports and provides technical guidance to the 31 local authority-led, multi-agency Age Friendly City and County Programmes in every local authority area. Age Friendly Ireland provides the links between the National Positive Ageing Strategy and the Global Age-friendly Cities Guide, published by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2007. The Age Friendly Cities and Counties Programme represents the formal localisation, in Ireland, of this defined global programme. The WHO programme involves a multi-agency approach to age-related planning and service provision. Applying this methodology consistently throughout the country Age Friendly Ireland helps cities and counties to be more inclusive of older people by addressing their expressed concerns under eight headings:
• outdoor spaces and buildings
• housing
• social participation
• transport
• respect and social inclusion
• civic participation and employment
• communication and information
• community support and health services. How Age Friendly Ireland works
Age Friendly Ireland actively promotes partnerships and collaborations. The Age Friendly Cities and Counties Programme is run by effective city- and county-based Alliances, involving senior decision-makers from public, commercial and not-for-profit organisations. Age Friendly Ireland assists Alliances aim to streamline the work of all key players at local level, putting the views, interests and needs of older people at their core. Through an Older People’s Council in each participating local authority area older people exercise a strong, guiding influence on age-friendly local development. Age Friendly Ireland provides guidance to the Alliances as they consult widely with older people. The Age Friendly City and County Strategies which the Alliances draw up are based squarely on the expressed views, needs and interests of older people. Through an Alliance’s Age Friendly Strategy, participating service providers and businesses become accountable to each other, and to older people, for the age-friendly actions they take. Age Friendly Ireland develops tools and methodologies for age-friendly practitioners at frontline and management levels. It works as a hub for knowledge transfer, brokering connections and information exchange between agency officials, service providers and older people, both locally and nationally. The aim is to ensure the exchange of age-friendly best practices that older people want and value, and which are appropriate, sustainable and cost-effective. Age Friendly Ireland offers access to valid, reliable and timely evidence on the lives of older people in Ireland through its partnership with the Department of Health and the HSE on the Healthy and Positive Ageing Initiative (HaPAI). This work offers a baseline against which Ireland can measure progress on positive ageing. Hosted by Dublin City Council on behalf of the local government network, Age Friendly Ireland is primarily funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies. Age Friendly Ireland is governed by a Board and advised by a National Implementation and Integration Group comprising senior representatives from Government Departments and agencies, and from the local authority, third-level education, not-for-profit and business sectors.
