Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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580. To ask the Minister for Health if he will establish the office of an independent commissioner for ageing and older people. [4572/23]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The Government is committed to supporting healthy and positive ageing as well as to ensuring that older persons can continue to live independently in their homes and communities for as long as possible.

Acknowledging the disproportionately negative impact of the pandemic on older persons, the Programme for Government: Our Shared Future (2020) commits to the establishment of a commission on care that will ‘assess how we care for older people and examine alternatives to meet the diverse needs of our older citizens’, learning the lessons from COVID 19.

In 2022 preliminary desk research was undertaken within the Department of Health in preparation for the establishment of a commission on care. In 2023 the scoping and planning for the commission on care will be further advanced as a priority. While, accordingly, the scope of the commission has yet to be determined, it is envisaged that consideration of matters such as whether there is a need to establish an independent commissioner for ageing and older people will fall within the commission’s remit.