Patricia Ryan
Question:582. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for Health his plans to update the National Positive Ageing Strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6564/23]
View answerTuesday, 14 February 2023
Questions (582)
Written answers
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. At present, this objective is supported by the National Positive Ageing Strategy (2013), which, as a blueprint for whole of government policy making and service delivery in partnership with the community and voluntary sector, retains its broad relevance.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 will be further advanced as a priority. Accordingly, the commission's scope has yet to be determined. However, it is envisaged that it will support a whole of government examination of the plethora of existing policies and strategies which are of relevance to supporting healthy and positive ageing, and make recommendations to effectively address gaps which currently exist in this domain in the policy landscape.