Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I concur with the Deputy's earlier remarks. I become concerned when I hear people talking about an ageing crisis, a demographic time bomb and so on. We should look on ageing as an enormous opportunity, for which, of course, we have to plan. The fact that people are living so long highlights the success of modern medicine and health care. They would not have lived as long in the past but I acknowledge we need to prepare. My Department has made a particular effort in the past year to put in additional resources into the fair deal scheme, home care packages and other measures to support people later in life and that will continue in the service plan being published tomorrow.

Overall responsibility for the strategy falls to the Minister of State with responsibility for older people in my Department, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, but the objectives come under a diverse range of Departments and agencies, each of which has to play its role. It is a cross-departmental strategy and there have been ongoing contacts with all relevant Departments and agencies. On foot of these contacts, the Department has formulated the proposed new arrangements to improve engagement among stakeholders and the relevant Departments and agencies. This is now up for discussion with the Department of the Taoiseach prior to formal submission to the senior officials group and the Cabinet Committee on Social Policy. It is intended that the new implementation arrangements will be agreed by the end of this year with a view to submitting them to the senior officials group early in 2016.

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