Political parties need to demonstrate more "urgency" when it comes to helping Ireland's ageing population, Age Action has said. 

The organisation believes the manifestos of all the main parties fail to reflect the urgency of dealing with Ireland’s ageing population. 

The group wants to see the next Government commit to benchmarking the State Pension - so that it increases to at least to 34% of average earnings.

Age Action spokesperson Nat O'Connor said the organisation has been calling for more generous pensions for decades. 

“We haven’t seen a promise across the parties to ensure that the State pension will keep up with the cost of living and, in particular, will keep up with average earnings in the economy - which is what has been promised since the 1990s,” he said. 

“So, we do need to see more urgency about the issue of meeting the needs of older people.” 

An older man's hands holding a Euro banknote. Picture by: Andrea Obzerova / Alamy Stock Photo

Age Action also wants the next Government to ban public service providers from only providing their services online and to provide more funding for digital skills training for the elderly.

“People are frustrated by having to go online [and] whenever there is an issue, told to go to the website and check something,” Mr O'Connor said. 

“We need to see quality customer services guaranteed across public services.” 

In the lifetime of the next Government, there will be an extra 135,000 people in their 60s or older.

Main images shows an old-aged pensioner. Image by: Yon Marsh / Alamy Stock Photo