Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I only have one issue to raise. It relates to the census. Well done to everyone involved in what is very important work. It will be a long time before it is all read, of course. I received a call from a lady in the west who is now a widow and lives on her own. She asked me what I thought she should write in the census time capsule. I told her to write whatever she wanted to. She spoke to me later and told me that she had written a simple line: "My hope is that people of my age [she is in her 80s] will be able in the future to remain in their own home." For me, this was profound. She will not be around in 100 years' time, but her aspiration is for people to remain living in the west right out on the coast. Her family has moved on, her husband has departed and she is on her own, but she is enjoying life, is happy and can rely on the support of her community and friends. This hammered home for me that here was a person who was investing in the future, thinking of a new generation and hoping that she herself might somehow be assisted.

There is a challenge in this for us. We all want to remain in our own homes as long as we can. We want independence and dignity and to play a role in our communities. We need a greater debate on how we can support people in staying in their homes for longer. Disappointingly, ageism is alive and well in this country across a range of areas. We need to tackle it. We need to support people who wish to stay in their own homes and communities. I ask that we have a focused debate at some point on older people who wish to be active in their communities and to live safely, securely and independently in their own homes. There is a need for this approach, particularly in rural Ireland where people do not have the support services that those in urban areas do.