Róisín Garvey (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Our older people have served the country the longest. They seem to be falling between the cracks when it comes to being dealt with properly. I have looked up the data the Minister of State referred to and that is how I know that one in seven of the population is over 65 and one in four will be over 65 in 2050. From talking to people on the ground and from phone calls I receive, I know hundreds of older people in every county would love to downsize, if they had the choice, and move into their local village or town. This would also save the State money and take pressure off nursing homes. No old person wants to be in a nursing home and old people would avoid them for much longer if they could live independently in a small town or village. That would also cost less than it costs to run a big house.

I thank the Minister of State for the timeline of some kind but it will take someone like him to drive it because the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, has to cover all aspects of housing. Somebody has to think about older people and housing. We would also create many family homes. If we take care of our older people first, it will be part of the solution to the housing crisis. We should have targets for local authorities based on statistics, rather than leaving it haphazardly to some local authorities to take the issue seriously while others do not. We are doing well on social housing targets. There are many good grants and lots of people get them for new windows and upgrading older houses but we need to address this serious issue. Our older people deserve it. Having served their country and worked the longest, they need this.