As Ireland’s largest community-based older people’s organisation, Active Retirement Ireland is a powerful voice for not just our members, but for all older people. At a national level, we work to ensure older people have a voice in all aspects of life, such as health services, social services, transport and education, and have their needs and concerns given the same consideration by government as those of other citizens.
Active Retirement Ireland’s pre-budget submissions outlining our proposals for increased provision and support for older people in Budget 2027 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.
Read our pre-budget submission 2027 to the Department of Social Protection
Read our pre-budget submission 2027 to the Department of Health
The shingles virus is a painful virus that can have lasting and long-term effects that significantly impact quality of life. It is estimated that shingles will present in one in three people in their lifetime, with older adults aged 50 and older at a higher risk. Currently, Ireland is among a small minority of EU countries that do not fully fund shingles vaccination for older adults. The private cost of the shingles vaccine is around €480–€500, which is well out of reach for many older people who are retired and living on a fixed income despite their increased risk. This in turn has consequences for the health system, with avoidable GP visits, prescriptions, hospital admissions and long-term care resulting from complications such as post-herpetic neuralgia.
Active Retirement Ireland is calling on the government to address this health inequity and include free shingles vaccination for people aged 65 and older as part of the adult immunisation programme, in line with the recommendations of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee.
Read our press releases:
ARI members support Seanad Eireann motion for State-funded shingles vaccination (6 February 2026)
ARI calls for free shingles vaccine for people aged 65+ (22 July 2025)
Alongside our partners in the Alliance of Age Sector NGOs, Active Retirement Ireland has long called on the government to give older people a seat at the top table through the establishment of an independent Commissioner for Ageing and Older People in Ireland. Similar to that which is in place in Northern Ireland and Wales, an independent commissioner would sit outside of but work with government across all portfolios ensure age equality and that the rights and interests of older people are considered and promoted at all levels.
Read Commissioner for Ageing and Older People prepared by the Alliance of Age Sector NGOs
In October, the Alliance of Age Sector NGOs, of which Active Retirement Ireland is a member, met with politicians to urge immediate action to improve the experiences of older people at end of life. Around 35,000 people die in Ireland each year, and demographic research shows that older people are the fastest growing population. Alliance members agree that measures are required to ensure older people are included in the conversations relating to their end-of-life care as well as recognising the urgent need for health and social services to be responsive to people as they age in their community.
Read our press release: Alliance calls for improvements to end-of-life experience for older people
In June 2023, Active Retirement Ireland, SIPTU, Age Action, Irish Senior Citizen’s Parliament and the National Women’s Council launched the Pension Promise campaign, lobbying the government to honou its promise of a state pension rate of 34% of average earnings and to halt the alarming number of people experiencing real pension poverty in Ireland. During the previous government term, the published ‘Roadmap for Pension Reform 2018–2023’ committed to a state contributory pension payment of no less than 34% of average earnings. The government has repeatedly indicated this benchmark as the minimum adequate payment for the state contributory pension, and yet at October 2025 the full contributory state pension amounted to just 28.1% of average earnings.
Active Retirement Ireland continues to lobby government to benchmark the contributory State Pension at 34% of average weekly earnings.
Read our press release: Older people worse off under Budget 2026
Each year, Active Retirement Ireland prepares pre-budget submissions to the Department of Social Protection and the Department of Health on behalf of our members and based on concerns and feedback raised by our members throughout the year.
Read Active Retirement Ireland’s 2025 pre-budget submissions to government