Active Retirement Ireland’s pre-budget submissions outlining our proposals for increased provision and support for older people in Budget 2026 have been provided to the Department of Social Protection, the Department of Health and members of the Dáil.
Active Retirement Ireland makes these pre-budget submissions on behalf of our more than 24,000 affiliated Active Retirement Ireland members around the country. These submissions are based on concerns and feedback raised by our members throughout the year.
The Programme for Government 2025 — Securing Ireland’s Future sets out a commitment from government to ‘ensuring our communities thrive and making our villages, towns and cities safer; to support a caring society; and to continue the focus on addressing poverty and social exclusion.’
Irish communities are ageing. It is projected that the number of people aged 65 years and over in Ireland will double between 2023 and 2051, reaching 1.6 million people and representing anywhere between 23% and 28% of the total population projections.
If a quarter of our villages, towns and cities are people aged 65 and older, addressing poverty, social exclusion and the safety and wellbeing of older people is paramount if the government is to achieve its commitment to ensuring thriving communities.
Effective, whole-of-government policies and frameworks must be developed and implemented to ensure that all people in Ireland are adequately supported to age well and live with dignity, security, independence and respect as they get older.
Pre-Budget 2026 Submission: Department of Social Protection
Summary of proposals:
- Benchmark the contributory State Pension at 34% of average weekly earnings — the figure previously determined by government to be ‘basic pension adequacy’ and committed to in the Roadmap for Pensions Reform 2018-2023.
- Increase the weekly State Pension by a minimum of €20 per week in Q4 2025 and commit to incremental increases in Q1, Q2, and Q3 of 2026 to bring the State Pension to 34% of average weekly earnings by October 2026.
- Depoliticise and protect 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 telephone and digital connection, 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) in recognition of high utility costs causing financial hardship for many older people.
- 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 2026 Submission: Department of Health
Summary of proposals:
- Automatically entitle any person ordinarily resident in Ireland and over the age of 80 to a medical card.
- Increase the means-tested income threshold for people aged 66–70 years to qualify for the medical card.
- Increase the means-tested income threshold for people aged over 70 years to qualify for the medical card.
- Index medical card eligibility income thresholds against wage growth, consumer price index or other economic indicator to maintain their relevance as an indicator of means.
- Make the application process for medical cards more user-friendly and less restrictive.
- Prioritise the urgent agreement of a new Dental Treatment Service Scheme for medical card holders.
- 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.
- Include shingles vaccination for adults aged 65 and over as part of the adult immunisation programme in line with National Immunisation Advisory Committee recommendations.
- 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.
- Prioritise the urgent implementation of 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.