Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy will be aware, in furtherance of the commitment in the programme for Government, in October this year the Minister for Health and I sought the establishment of a commission on care and we got approval from the Cabinet. Subsequently, a budget of €1.24 million was allocated to support this important initiative. The commission will examine the provision of health and social care services and supports for older people and make recommendations to the Government for their strategic development. Subsequently, a cross-departmental group will be established under the auspices of the commission to consider whether the supports for positive ageing across the life course are fit for purpose and to develop a costed implementation plan. It is really important that we have this because we often see documentation that proposes many measures, but these must be realistic as well and we have to be able to fund them.

I suppose we are coming from the perspective that everyone is ageing. We have one of the largest ageing populations in Europe. It is also important to point out, though, that thanks to all the very good work done daily we have the highest life expectancy in the EU, as deemed by the World Health Organization, WHO, at 82. It is also important to acknowledge that Ireland was the first country in the world to achieve age-friendly status in 2019 from the WHO.

If we speak to older people, they will tell us that their preference is to be able to age in place in their own house in their own home community with the correct wrap-around supports. It is very important, therefore, that this commission will look at all of these options.

The commission will be independently chaired. In December this year, Professor Alan Barrett, chief executive of the ESRI, was appointed as chairperson of the commission. I met with Professor Barrett before Christmas. I will respond further after the Deputy's next question

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