Active Retirement Ireland’s pre-budget submissions outlining our proposals for increased provision and support for older people in Budget 2025 have been provided to the Department of Social Protection, the Department of Health and members of the Dáil.
Pre-Budget 2025 Submission: Department of Social Protection
Objective: To ensure older people in Ireland are adequately supported to enable them to age well and live with dignity, security, independence and respect.
Summary of proposals:
- Benchmark the contributory State Pension at 34% of average weekly earnings as committed to by government in the Roadmap for Pensions Reform 2018-2023.
- Increase the weekly State Pension by a minimum of €20 per week in Q4 2024 and commit to incremental increases in Q1, Q2, and Q3 of 2025 to bring the State Pension to 34% of average weekly earnings by October 2025.
- Depoliticise the State Pension by ‘triple locking’ payment rates to guarantee future pension adequacy in line with inflation and wage growth.
- Increase the Living Alone Allowance from €22 to €25 per week.
- Maintain the current rate of €33 per week for the Fuel Allowance.
- Reintroduce the 32-week payment period (increase of four payment weeks on current 28 weeks) for the Fuel Allowance to provide further relief to older people servicing excessive winter fuel bill balances carried over into warmer months.
- Review the Telephone Support Allowance to transform it to the Digital Connection Allowance, in recognition of changing technologies and to support older people to participate in online activities such as telemedicine, banking and digital communications.
- In transforming the Telephone Support Allowance to the Digital Connection Allowance, increase the allowance by €2.50 per week (to €5 per week) to offer meaningful contribution to the cost of communications and/or a home alert system and the cost of broadband, recognising changing technologies and the increased cost of these over the years since the allowance was instituted.
- Increase the monthly Household Benefit Package allowance towards gas/electricity by €5 per month (to €40 per month) to reflect increased utility costs.
- Maintain the Free Travel Scheme and the Christmas bonus.
- Bring free hearing tests for older people under the Treatment Benefit Scheme, in line with preventive optical and dental benefits.
- Establish an independent Commissioner for Ageing and Older People in Ireland, similar to that which is in place in Northern Ireland and Wales, to ensure the rights and interests of older people are considered and promoted at all levels.
- Take ageism and the harm caused by ageist beliefs, attitudes and actions seriously and implement a well-resourced, meaningful programme of action to counteract it.
- Institute and implement a comprehensive, whole-of-government positive ageing framework in Ireland that looks beyond the care and medical needs of older people to protect all aspects of ageing and allow older people to ensure people in Ireland are empowered and supported to age well.
Pre-Budget 2024 Submission: Department of Health
Objective: To see health equity achieved for older people in Ireland by ensuring adequate supports are in place for all older people — not only those with means — to be able to prioritise their health and wellbeing and live with dignity, independence and highest quality of life after retirement.
Summary of proposals:
- Automatically entitle any person ordinarily resident in Ireland and over the age of 80 to a medical card.
- Implement more appropriate eligibility requirements for older people aged 70-79 to qualify for the medical card — either by increasing the means tested income threshold and base means testing on net income rather than gross, or base eligibility on medical need.
- Make the application process for medical cards more user-friendly and less restrictive.
- Work with GPs to remove disincentives to treat medical card holders and remove the discretionary powers of GPs to refuse an application by patients for medical card GP services on the basis of their holding a medical card.
- Work with dentists to remove disincentives to treat medical card holders and remove the discretionary powers of dentists to refuse appointments for patients on the basis of their holding a medical card.
- Remove ambiguity and GP discretionary charging by legislating against charging medical card holders fees for blood tests and diagnostic screening carried out at GP practices.
- Remove the cost of all blood tests and diagnostic screening carried out at GP practices for patients with GP visit cards.
- Abolish any charges associated with prescription medical items for medical card holders.
- Remove the Drugs Payment Scheme expiry period and reapplication requirement for people over the age of 70 availing of the scheme.
- Remove the upper age-limit on access to free government breast, bowel and cervical screening schemes.
- Implement an urgent investment and action plan to reduce hospital waiting times for older people.
- Implement a statutory home care system addressing all aspects of home care as part of a comprehensive, long-term strategy for older people needing care and who want to stay in their homes until end of life, as so many do.
- Develop and put into action a whole of government strategy to ageing that allows all older people to age with dignity, respect and independence for as long as possible.
- Establish an Independent Commissioner for Ageing and Older People in Ireland, similar to that which is in place in Northern Ireland and Wales, to ensure the rights and interests of older people are considered and promoted at all levels.
- Take ageism and the harm caused by ageist beliefs, attitudes and actions seriously and implement a well-resourced, meaningful programme of action to counteract it.
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