Building Better Supports for Ageing Well at Home
The services and infrastructure needed in a country depends in large part on the make-up of its population. The profile of Ireland’s population is changing, and this requires a bespoke policy response from Government. We must plan ahead for changes to our demography to ensure that housing, healthcare, social supports and transport meet the needs of our ageing population. ALONE and Social Justice Ireland believe that everyone should be supported to age well in their community, and that this should be Government’s over-arching policy goal for older people.
By 2030, over one million people in Ireland will be aged 65+. Future Forty: A Fiscal and Economic Outlook to 2065, published by the Department of Finance, details how the effects of demographic trends are already in motion. Planning and designing the services and infrastructure to achieve this goal must begin now, as a significant increase in investment will be required to meet the challenges associated with an ageing population.
In our recent publication, we focus on improving access to various supports needed to support us all to age at home. This paper should, therefore, be read alongside others in this series, particularly our 2024 and 2025 publications. When services are difficult to access, whether due to long waiting times, transportation barriers, insufficient communication options, information gaps, or financial constraints, it can prevent equitable outcomes being reached.
Key policy recommendations include:
Increase Funding for Home Support Services by €75.4m
In line with the 2025 Programme for Government commitment, Government should increase funding for home support services to deliver additional hours of care in line with the growing health and social care needs of older adults. This requires a total funding allocation of almost €1bn to enable older people to live independently at home with the necessary support. To reach this allocation, we therefore recommend an additional investment of €75.4m in 2027.
Provide €3m to Establish Statutory Home Support Scheme
The 2025 Programme for Government commits to design a Statutory Homecare Scheme to allow people to stay in their own home for as long as possible. Building on work done to date, we recommend that €3m should be allocated to complete the development of a full statutory home support scheme, including system design, funding model, and regulation, and to include the development of capacity-building supports for the community and voluntary sector to meet revised standards in the delivery of the scheme. This will ensure that home care services are accessible and aligned with the evolving needs of the ageing population, guaranteeing consistent care for older individuals across the country.
Invest €1.35m in the Loneliness Taskforce’s National Strategy on Loneliness
Given the links between loneliness and poor physical and mental health outcomes, Government invest €1,353,000 in the recommendations of the Loneliness Taskforce. According to the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, Ireland has the highest rate of loneliness in the EU: up to 1 in 5 people in Ireland experience loneliness. Social inequalities increase risk of loneliness and its harms, and high rates are linked to poorer economic performance, reduced political participation, and erosion of social trust. Despite this, Ireland has no dedicated national policy on loneliness. We therefore recommend that Budget 2027 fund the proposed a National Strategy on Loneliness, developed by the Loneliness Taskforce. This five-year plan, which has been developed from public submissions and expert consultation, consists of three pillars in Phase 1:
- Pillar 1 – Awareness and Advocacy: formal recognition of the Taskforce and provision of secretariat support.
- Pillar 2 – Programmes Addressing Loneliness: investment is needed in counselling and talk therapies in primary care for individuals experiencing loneliness, delivered by qualified and accredited professionals.
- Pillar 3 – Evidence: More research is needed on the causes, effects, and solutions for loneliness, especially how these vary across different groups in Ireland. The Loneliness Taskforce Research Network has collectively determined research priorities for loneliness research in Ireland.
To deliver this, we therefore recommend funding of €1.35m in Budget 2027
Invest €292m to build 980 social housing units to support right-sizing for older renters
Considering demographic change, we recommend Government invest an additional €291.7m, funded from surplus windfall revenues, to build 980 social housing units in 2027 according to Universal Design principles. This would facilitate people aged 65+ who live in private rented, local authority and voluntary body rented accommodation to move to homes more appropriate to their needs as they age (“right-sizing”). This is a step towards a goal of providing 27,337 right-sized social housing units by the end of 2040, at a projected cost of €8.14bn over the 14-year period.