Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Healthy Age Friendly Homes is the support coordination service which seeks to improve the health and wellbeing of older adults and to enable them to remain in their own homes and communities for as long as possible. An innovative collaboration between Health, Housing, and Local Government, through the Age Friendly Ireland Shared Service, this programme has been operational in nine pilot sites since July 2021. This programme establishes the unique role of the Local Coordinator, who is situated in local government and who operates at the interface between health and housing. They act as a single point of contact for older adults as a catalyst to signpost services on their behalf.

Referral into the programme can be made by the older person themselves, or by a family member, friend, GP, carer, or member of their community. On referral into the programme, their Local Coordinator will carry out a home visit to conduct a holistic assessment of needs in the areas of health, housing adaptations, home energy assessments and retrofits, community and social supports, and assistive technologies.

Where a need for a housing adaptation is identified, the coordinator will assist with the application process in order to avail of the relevant grants (e.g. housing adaptation grant, mobility aid grant). Similarly, the programme has established a partnership with SEAI to provide home energy assessments, BER assessments, and energy retrofits for older adults.

Following a successful pilot funded by Sláintecare, the programme has received funding of €5.2m in Budget 2023 to roll out nationally. This funding provides for 44 Local Coordinators, 6 Regional Managers, and 16 administrative support staff to deliver supports and advice to older people nationwide. This means that there will be a Local Coordinator for each of the 31 Local Authorities and two coordinators in certain areas based on identified need. These roles are funded by the HSE, and employed by Meath County Council as host of the Age Friendly Ireland Shared Service. Local Coordinators will also be provided with a small programme budget in each local authority to facilitate local engagement and promotional activities. The programme will be coordinated across six regions, aligned to the six new HSE Health Regions.

Work to progress the recruitment of the 44 Local Coordinators and 6 Regional Managers through the Public Appointments Service has progressed over the summer period, with 5 out of 6 regional managers in place and coordinators expected to take up post in the coming weeks. The national programme launch will take place in the Autumn.