Ms Frances Spillane:

I thank the joint committee for the invitation to attend the meeting on the subject of housing for older people. I am joined by my colleague, Mr. Niall Redmond, principal officer, services for older people.

People are living longer than ever before. Success in improved health and extended life expectancy has been achieved in recent decades and should be acknowledged and celebrated. Life expectancy for a woman aged 65 years in 2015 is estimated at 21 years, up 22% from life expectancy for a woman aged 65 years in 1995. For men, the figure is 18.4 years, a rise of 36%. However, as well as opportunities, the ageing population poses significant challenges that need to be recognised and addressed across a wide range of areas. Every year there is an increase of 20,000 in the over-65 population.

People of all ages make up a community. By and large, engagement with senior citizens clearly indicates that they would prefer to stay at home for as long as they can. We all recognise the benefits the older population has to offer society as a whole. The Department of Health, with its partners in the health sector and beyond, is looking at how we can facilitate and support their wishes and preferences. A particularly important factor in realising this objective is improving home support services in order that people can live with confidence, dignity and security in their own homes for as long as possible. This year the budget of the Health Service Executive, HSE, for the provision of home support services is €408 million, which will deliver over 17 million home support hours to about 50,500 people. While the existing service is delivering crucial support across the country, it is recognised that home support services need to be improved to better meet the changing needs of citizens. The Department of Health is engaged in a detailed process to develop a new stand-alone statutory scheme for the financing and regulation of home support services. A range of community services aimed at supporting older people are also funded at a cost of approximately €300 million by the HSE. They include short-stay beds, day care centres and meals on wheels services. Many of these services are provided by voluntary organisations.

The report of the Committee on the Future of Healthcare, Sláintecare, supports a significant shift in the model of care to one that is focused on prevention and early intervention and which will provide the majority of care in the community. It is crucial that the appropriate supports be in place to match each person’s needs at whatever point he or she is at in his or her interaction with the health care system. The national positive ageing strategy has shown us that a whole-of-government response is required to address the range of social, economic and environmental factors that affect the health and well-being of older citizens. The Department of Health and the HSE engage with many stakeholder groups on issues of concern to older people. The Department also funds TILDA, the national longitudinal study of ageing, which provides valuable evidence which feeds into policy development by Departments and, in association with the HSE, Age-Friendly Ireland and Atlantic Philanthropies, leads the healthy and positive ageing initiative, HaPAI, a research programme aimed at measuring progress towards achieving the objective of making Ireland a great place in which to grow old.

I am pleased to inform the committee that the Department of Health and the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government are working together in finalising a high level policy statement, to which my colleague, Ms Hurley, has referred. It will provide a framework by which the Government can facilitate and promote a variety of housing options, including housing with care services and supported housing for older people. In tandem with it, the Department and the HSE are participating in a demonstrator project in Inchicore in partnership with the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, Dublin City Council, the HSE and the Irish Council for Social Housing. The project is aimed at offering older people who do not require nursing home care the benefits of living in their own homes, connected to their communities, with support and care provided in a cost-effective way.

We envisage that this demonstration project will be adapted and replicated in other areas.

The overall aim is to develop new models of housing for older people where care, support and community dimensions are provided on-site, integrated into the community and designed with the active participation of older people themselves. The results of an evaluation of the first phase of the project will be published shortly. It is hoped that this project and the learning derived from it could act as a blueprint for the future.

I hope that this provides an overview of the Department of Health's involvement in housing for older people and we will be happy to answer any questions.