The Government needs to honour the commitments it made to older people before it is too late.

That is according to the Alliance of Age Sector NGOs, who have released a new report looking at how the Government has addressed areas of concern over the last number of years.

‘Taking Stock: Is Government keeping its commitments to older people?’ has graded the Government on 17 thematic areas with action on the National Positive Ageing Strategy receiving an F grade.

Third Age CEO Aine Brady said introducing an independent Commissioner for older people would go a long way to solving the many problems affecting our elderly population.

“I feel there are a lot of other areas that could be improved on,” she said. 

“And we see that the Commissioners already in place in Northern Ireland and Wales are already making a positive impact.” 

Ms Brady said having a Commissioner would benefit not just the elderly, but would be a “key asset” for Government. 

“It would help by bringing all the Departments and agencies together to integrate all the 18 issues into all relevant policy fields and to affect the strong implementation of the policies that are already there,” she said. 

In the 2022 census, there were 1.04 million people in Ireland aged over 60.

Main image: Elderly person's hands.