National Positive Ageing Strategy
Public Consultation Process
Public discourse is an essential element of strategy development and in that context, a key issue faced by all who engage in such a process lies in the need to ensure that every voice is heard, that every issue is raised, and that all viewpoints are given ample consideration. Given that the National Positive Ageing Strategy will have a wider focus than any previous strategy relating to older people and that it is to set the strategic direction for future policies and services for older people, it was important that the views and opinions of people in all sectors of Irish society were sought – public, private, community and voluntary, institutions, agencies and representative groups as well as those of individual older people.
The consultation process represented the most comprehensive and wide-ranging consultation ever between Government and older people in Ireland. Carried out between June 2009 and June 2010, it comprised:
- a public call for written submissions;
- a series of public regional consultation meetings which were attended by over 1,100 people;
- face to face meetings between Minister Áine Brady TD and groups representing vulnerable and marginalised older people to discuss in greater detail issues raised in their submissions. Officials of the Office for Older People also attended these meetings; and
- a round table meeting in Co Louth to hear at first hand the learnings and experience so far of the Louth Age Friendly County Initiative.
Written submissions
Minister Brady made a call for written submissions to the National Positive Ageing Strategy in June 2009 by means of advertisements placed in the national media and on the Department of Health and Children’s website (www.dohc.ie). Letters from the Director of the Office for Older People were sent to 169 agencies, representative groups and other stakeholders with an interest in the area of ageing, inviting them to make a submission. Submissions were invited which would address ‘issues relating to older people’s participation in society; the way services are organised and are used by older people; views on the issues that affect the quality of life of older people such as income, health and social care, housing, transport, education and employment’ and any other issues considered of importance or relevant to older people by stakeholders.
The call for submissions resulted in 190 contributions from a broad range of statutory agencies; professional and other bodies; academic and cultural institutions; organisations in the community and voluntary sector; groups representing the interests of older people; as well as from individuals.
The focus of submissions differed between the ‘individual’ and ‘local community/voluntary’ sectors on one hand, and the ‘NGO’, ‘representative/professional organisation’ and ‘State’ sectors on the other. The former tended to focus more on ‘on the ground issues’ while the latter, in general, took a broader and more strategic view in relation to the priority themes.
The table below sets out the breakdown of submissions by sector.
| Sector | Total (N) | |
|---|---|---|
| Academic/research | 11 | 6% |
| Cultural | 7 | 4% |
| Faith-based organisation | 5 | 3% |
| State sector | 30 | 16% |
| Individual | 37 | 19% |
| Local authority/VEC | 4 | 2% |
| Local community/voluntary | 21 | 11% |
| Local community development organisation | 7 | 4% |
| Non-governmental organisation | 40 | 21% |
| Not-for-profit | 3 | 2% |
| Political party | 3 | 2% |
| Private/commercial | 4 | 2% |
| Representative/professional organisation | 18 | 9% |
| Total | 190 | 101%* |
*Due to rounding, percentages do not add up to 100%
The top ten priority themes that emerged from the written submissions were:
- Health and social care (64%).
- Transport (40%).
- Social inclusion (36%).
- Housing (33%).
- Income and pensions (27%).
- Information needs (26%).
- Ageism (26%).
- Healthy ageing (24%).
- Cultural, spiritual and recreational (22%).
- Safety and security (22%).
Regional public consultation meetings
The second strand of the public consultation process involved a series of nine public regional consultation meetings. The purpose of the meetings was to offer an opportunity to stakeholders to express their views on how service needs and the delivery of services must be addressed; how barriers to services and gaps in service provision can be identified; what is working and is not working in the way services and supports are provided; and how service provision can be enhanced using the most effective and innovative means available in a time of significant resource constraints.
Organised by the Office for Older People in collaboration with local partnership agencies, the meetings were held over a ten-week period from early March to late May 2010. The meetings focused on the theme Challenging Ageism to Create an Age Friendly Society and followed a set format, which included an introductory talk by Minister Brady; a talk on ageism by an invited speaker; group discussion on a series of specific themes; and a plenary session comprising feedback from each discussion group.
Participants selected the topic they wished to discuss in advance from a list, broadly influenced by the issues raised in the written submissions, that included social and civic participation; work and retirement; housing and the built environment; transport; health and social services; safety and security; and information needs. Some 1,100 people participated in the regional meetings, including individual older people, representatives of older people’s organisations and service providers from the statutory, voluntary and community sectors who gave their views on issues of relevance. Consultation meetings were held in the following locations:
- Cork: (4 March) - Middle Parish Community Centre, Cork City in collaboration with Cork City Partnership. Attendance: 110 people from Cork, Kerry and Waterford.
- Sligo: (11 March) - Sligo Park Hotel, Sligo in collaboration with Sligo Leader Partnership and HSE West. Attendance: 140 people from Sligo, Mayo, Roscommon, Leitrim and Donegal.
- Galway: (25 March) - Leisureland, Salthill, Galway in collaboration with Galway City Partnership and Galway Rural Development. Attendance: 120 people from Galway, Mayo, Roscommon, Clare, Westmeath and Dublin.
- Clane: (19 April) - Westgrove Hotel, Clane, Co Kildare in collaboration with Older Voices Kildare. Attendance: 150 people from Kildare, Laois, Westmeath, Meath, Longford and Dublin.
- Enniscorthy: (26 April) - Riverside Park Hotel, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford; in collaboration with Wexford Local Development. Attendance: 160 people from Wexford, Kilkenny, Carlow and Wicklow.
- Newcastle West: (4 May) - Desmond Ability Resource Complex, Newcastle West, Co Limerick; in collaboration with West Limerick Resources and Ballyhoura Development. Attendance: 120 people from Limerick, Tipperary, Cork, Kerry and Clare.
- Dublin: (17 May) - Clontarf Castle Hotel, Clontarf, Dublin 3; in collaboration with Dublin Partnership companies. Attendance: 220 people from Dublin, Kilkenny, Meath, Louth and Wicklow.
- Athlone: (28 May) - Radisson Blu Hotel, Athlone, Co Westmeath in collaboration with the Offaly Local Development Company. Attendance: 120 people from Westmeath, Roscommon, Tipperary, Longford and Cavan.
Consultation meeting on the Louth Age Friendly County Initiative - (24 May) - Fairways Hotel, Dundalk
The Louth Age Friendly Initiative was launched in November 2008. Due to the unique nature of developments for older people since the initiative was launched, it was decided to adopt a different approach to the consultation meeting in the county to that adopted at the other regional meetings. Therefore, a round-table meeting was held with stakeholders involved in the Initiative. Facilitated by Louth County Council, the meeting was attended by Minister Brady, the staff of the Office for Older People, some 35 representatives of local statutory agencies, other bodies and organisations involved in the initiative, plus a number of local political representatives. The purpose of the meeting was to provide an opportunity for Minister Brady and staff of the Office for Older People to interface with key individuals involved in the Louth Age Friendly County Initiative, and to hear at first hand the learnings and experience so far of the Initiative.
Meetings with groups representing vulnerable/marginalised groups - (29 April) - Leinster House
Given a concern to ensure the representation of as many views as possible during the consultation process, it was felt that particular attention needed to be paid to hearing from organisations representing more vulnerable, marginalised, hard to reach or invisible older people. In this regard, Minister Brady invited a number of such organisations that had made contributions to the written submissions process to meet with her and staff of the Office for Older People in Leinster House. The organisations that attended these meetings were: The Irish Wheelchair Association; The National Council for the Blind; Brainwave, the Irish Epilepsy Association; DeafHear.ie; Multiple Sclerosis Ireland; Inclusion Ireland; Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN); Pavee Point; and Marriage Equality.
