Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 June 2023
1272. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Health if he has plans to develop housing for older persons where they can live independently but in a safe community, given that older people want to downsize and offering housing suitable for them; if he has engaged with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage on this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28271/23]
View answerIreland’s population is ageing rapidly, and for the most part, our older population clearly indicates their preference to age in place, in their own homes, for as long as possible. The Department of Health’s strategic policy goal is to deliver a new model of integrated, older persons health and social care services, across the care continuum, supporting older people to remain living independently in their own homes and communities for longer, in line with the Sláintecare vision for receiving the right care, in the right place, and at the right time.
COVID-19 has also highlighted the important need to move to new models of care for older people. This will involve short and long-term reform across Government in order to provide new housing models and new ‘home-first’ care models.
The Department of Health is committed to delivering the vision of the 2019 policy statement on 'Housing Options for Our Ageing Population', jointly published with the Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage. The central aim of the policy statement is to increase the housing options available to older people and to facilitate the integration of supports in a more coherent way, particularly between the housing and health sectors, with a view to facilitating people to live at home with dignity and independence for longer.
The final report of the group, published in June last year, details the significant progress that has been made to date and the plans for taking the strategic goals of the policy statement onwards. The remaining actions will be taken forward within the framework of Housing for All which aims to increase housing options for older people to facilitate ageing in place, in their own homes and communities, with dignity and independence, and deliver an appropriate range of housing and related support services, in an integrated and sustainable manner.
Building on the co-operative momentum established under Housing Options for our Ageing Population, a new framework to continue the joint co-operative policy making and implementation between the Department of Housing and the Department of Health is being developed. Under this framework, both departments will consider a range of housing options for older people and how these might be delivered collaboratively.
At present, the Department of Health, alongside the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is supporting a Housing with Supports ‘demonstrator project’ in Inchicore in Dublin which is now under construction. Housing with Support is defined as purpose-built, non-institutional accommodation, where older people have their own front door and where support or care services are available. Housing with Support is a specialised housing option primarily for older people that falls between living independently in the community at one end of the spectrum and living in a nursing home or other form of long-term care at the other end.
This Housing with Support project in Inchicore is a collaborative, cross-sectoral, and cross-departmental project that recognises the need for a joined-up approach to addressing the critical issue of creating housing choice for our ageing population, one that requires housing, social, and care supports to be incorporated into a single model. It is the hope that this project will act as a pathfinder project for future mainstreaming of this form of housing.
It is important that there is a cross-governmental and multi-stakeholder approach to address the barriers older people face to remain in their homes and communities as they age. The Department of Health is committed to addressing these challenges and supporting older people to age in place in Ireland while also continuing to deliver an appropriate range of housing and related support services for our older population.
