You are here

Home » News » Ageing Better campaign calls for Senior Minister for Older People and a joined-up approach to Ireland’s ageing population

Ageing Better campaign calls for Senior Minister for Older People and a joined-up approach to Ireland’s ageing population

Published 04/02/2020

SHARE THIS

Age Action and Active Retirement Ireland, the country’s leading older people’s organisations with a combined membership of approximately 30,000 people, held a photocall on Monday as part of their ‘Ageing Better’ general election campaign, calling for older people to be placed at the heart of the next government. 

The two organisations are calling on parties with ambition to be in Government to outline how they will ensure an all-of-Government approach to ageing. Criticising the poor level of engagement and awareness on issues of ageing in the election so far, they are asking politicians to seek the older persons vote with concrete commitments.  

Commenting today, CEO of Active Retirement Ireland Maureen Kavanagh, said: “So far the general election debate has not meaningfully addressed the issues affecting older people. It is disappointing politicians have engaged in divisive rhetoric, pitching young people against older people. The unavoidable reality is the next government needs to get serious about providing for Ireland’s ageing population. This ultimately benefits all of society because everyone will want to be treated with dignity and respect and enjoy security as they grow older."

 

“As part of the Ageing Better campaign, we are calling for a dedicated Minister for Older People to be appointed who can be a strong voice for older people at the cabinet table. In the next 20 years, one in four people in Ireland will be over the age of 65. This highlights the need for the government to act now to ensure the supports and services older people require are properly resourced. As we head into the final week of the election it is critical that candidates take notice of older people and their needs.”

 

Also commenting today, Paddy Connolly CEO of Age Action, said: “Older people want their voice at the decision-making table. Issues like health, housing, employment and transport are of particular concern for older people. We need politicians and a Government that can demonstrate they are listening to their concerns, and that can deliver a joined-up approach across Government Departments to plan for our ageing population."

 

“We can do ageing better, by involving people of all ages and at all stages in life. In planning for us all as we age, we can make Ireland a fairer place for older people now and into the future. Older people should reserve their vote for politicians who are committed to listening to them and to delivering in Government" said Paddy Connolly.

 

The Ageing Better campaign has five main policy asks:

  1. Appoint a senior minister for older people;
  2. Indexing pension rates to 34% of average weekly earnings;
  3. Suspend the planned increase in the state pension age to 67 in 2021;
  4. Appoint a commissioner for ageing with statutory powers to support their mandate; and
  5. Take ambitious climate action consistent with climate justice to protect people and planet.

Further Reading

Ageing Better Campaign for Election 2020 

SHARE THIS

The new Bill is an inadequate response to the growing demand for the abolition of mandatory retirement.

According to Dr Nat O’Connor, Age Action’s Senior Policy Adviser: “Age Action strongly opposes the revival of the Employment (Restriction of Certain Mandatory Retirement Ages). Bill 2024, which is an inadequate response to the growing demand for the abolition of mandatory retirement.”

“Across political parties, in unions and among older persons, we see support for ending the practice of forcing people out of work before they are ready, but the proposed Bill makes no meaningful progress toward that end. The aim set out in its title, to restrict certain mandatory retirement ages, betrays its lack of ambition. All it provides for is the establishment of a complex, formal procedure so that employees can make a written request to stay on past their contractual retirement age; a request which can still be denied by their employer. This is the sole ‘restriction’ the Bill would impose on mandatory retirement.”

“This is a weak and ineffective Bill which is unlikely to help most employees who are forced out of work against their will for the offence of reaching a certain birthday. There is no reason for such timid action when we have seen other countries like Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the UK, and the United States abolish mandatory retirement entirely, in some cases decades ago. These countries have continued to enjoy well-functioning and productive labour markets and workplaces, showing that there is no foundation for the fears expressed by people who want to keep mandatory retirement.”

“Mandatory retirement is age discrimination. If the State allows a form of discrimination to be practiced, it must set out clear justifications for the practice. However, the popular arguments in favour of mandatory retirement are all myths. There is no evidence that older persons are less able to contribute to a workplace, or that they cost more than they contribute, or that they prevent younger workers from gaining employment. In fact, research has demonstrated the many benefits older workers bring to workplaces, including institutional experience, mentoring, and soft skills like better stress management.”

“Mandatory retirement is based on gross and insulting stereotypes about ageing. It is experienced by workers as a humiliating and dehumanizing injustice. It takes away our autonomy and our control over how and when we retire, which is a major life event. People who had no choice in retiring report poorer mental health, life satisfaction, health status, dietary habits, marital satisfaction, self-efficacy, and income adequacy, even years into their retirement.”

Dr. O’Connor concluded: “The proposed Bill is an incomplete and inadequate response to the problem of mandatory retirement, and by virtue of its incompleteness, reinforces and legitimises the dangerous ageism on which mandatory retirement is founded. We want our new government to take strong and decisive action, rather than tinkering around the edges of a serious problem. The Bill needs to be abandoned in favour of legislation that really helps the workers who wish to remain in work for longer.”

Churn:
It is not reasonable to suggest that the abolition of mandatory retirement would create a large problem for companies, when the scale of churn in the labour market is already far higher. The Irish labour market experienced 12.8% churn in quarter 3 of 2024, meaning that 1 in 8 jobs were created, abolished or vacated during this period, which was 365,750 jobs (Central Statistics Office 2024).

Compared to this level of hiring and resignations, managing the relatively small number of older workers who may seek to work longer or whose productivity may fall in older age is a much smaller human resources management issue for companies.

CSO (2024) Labour Market Churn Q3 2024 https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/fp/fp-lmc/labourmarketchurnq32024/

Age Action’s detailed policy paper outlining the case against mandatory retirement can be accessed here: https://www.ageaction.ie/sites/default/files/age_action_paper_abolish_mandatory_retirement.pdf

Read more
View all news

Media enquiry? Contact our press office