John Brassil (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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371. To ask the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 567 of 21 March 2017 if he will assess the feasibility and costs for the provision of a nationwide database that would co-ordinate service providers, namely, public bodies and community organisations that provide community services, most especially to the care of the old and vulnerable, in order to properly identify and provide information on persons who need help, the help that is required and the body which can and will provide that help; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15238/17]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The website of the Health Service Executive is a useful information tool and provides a list of the wide range of health and social care services it provides across a range of areas. In particular, in relation to services for older people, information is available regarding:

- Home Care/Home Help;

- The Nursing Homes Support Scheme A Fair Deal, and nursing homes in Ireland;

- Community Services;

- Information on protecting older people;

- Tips for Health Living;

- Information for Carers;

- Useful contact information for various organisations who provide assistance and advice on issues relevant to older people.

However, issues affecting older people are not purely health-related. The National Positive Ageing Strategy (NPAS), published on 24 April 2013, highlights that ageing is not just a health issue, but rather requires a whole of Government approach to address a range of social, economic and environmental factors that affect the health and well-being of our ageing citizens. The NPAS provides a framework for cooperation to address age-related policy and service delivery across Government and society in the years ahead. The Strategy is intended to promote older people’s health and well being so that older people can continue to contribute to social, economic, cultural and family life in their own communities for as long as possible, thereby representing a vision for an age-friendly society.

At the launch of the Strategy, a commitment was made to publish an Implementation Plan to facilitate the translation of the Goals and Objectives of the Strategy into action on the ground. The approach to implementation originally included in the Strategy would have worked where a finite number of discrete and concrete steps could be taken after which the implementation could be deemed complete. However, many of the objectives included in this Strategy are quite broad, and can be viewed as a set of principles to which Government has committed, and which will inform policies that affect older people on an indefinite basis into the future, rather than concrete objectives that can be delivered in the short term.

The Department has therefore formulated new arrangements to implement and monitor the implementation of the National Positive Ageing Strategy. The revised arrangements were approved by the Cabinet Committee on Social Policy and Public Service Reform on 27 October, 2016. The new proposals will see mechanisms established that will give stakeholder groups effective and on-going access to Government Departments and State Agencies relevant to older people. An Annual Forum for stakeholders is being established which will seek to identify what stakeholders consider to be their key priorities for Government for the coming year and the next three years. Issues will be considered on a thematic basis and will include Health, Social Protection, Transport, Security, Community Housing and Local Government etc. Clear channels of communications will be established with relevant Government Departments assigning a named senior official to engage with stakeholder representatives on issues relevant to their remit.

The inaugural Stakeholder Forum will take place on 30 March 2017.

As part of the NPAS implementation process, a Healthy and Positive Ageing Initiative has been established in collaboration with the HSE’s Health and Wellbeing Programme and the Atlantic Philanthropies to measure the impact of the Strategy and establish an ongoing system for measuring and reporting on Positive Ageing. The Initiative will monitor changes in older people’s health and well-being linked to the Goals and Objectives of the National Positive Ageing Strategy. This will be done primarily through the development of Positive Ageing indicators to be published every two years. The Initiative is intended to provide evidence of the factors contributing to positive ageing, including at local level and ultimately inform policy responses to population ageing in Ireland. The first national Positive Ageing Indicators report was published in 2016 and highlights many of the positive and negative aspects of growing old in Ireland.

The National Positive Ageing Strategy and the activities of the HaPAI are strongly embedded within the vision and actions set out for Healthy Ireland, the Government-led initiative which aims to create an Irish society where people of all ages can enjoy good physical and mental health, and where well-beingissupported at every level of society. The Healthy Ireland Framework was launched in 2013 and seeks to provide people and communities withaccurate information on how to improve their health and well-being and to make the healthy choices easier choices. Healthy Ireland takes a whole-of-Government and whole-of-society approach to improving health and well-being and the quality of people’s lives and a number of new structures have been put in place to ensure that all sectors of society are given opportunities to participate.

The Department of Health has no plans at present to develop a nationwide database that would coordinate service providers both public bodies and community organisations that provide community services, as suggested by the Deputy.