The Alliance of Age Sector NGOs (the Alliance) represents the collective thinking of seven significant NGOs working in the age sector.
Each of the seven member organisations has set out its own recommendations for Budget 2024. As a collective partnership, the Alliance members are, however, making just one call on government as it finalises Budget 2024:
- To support the Alliance’s call for the speedy establishment of an Independent Commissioner for Ageing and Older People that would account directly to the Oireachtas, with a mandate to safeguard and protect the interests and well-being of older people and an ageing population.
Ireland is ageing faster than anywhere else in Europe. The over-65 population has grown by 35 per cent over the past decade and it is predicted that this group will reach 1 million people by 2031.
Independent commissioners, with strong track records of achievements, are in place in both Northern Ireland (estb. 2011 with a £1.5m budget in 2022) and Wales (estb. 2008 with a £1.1m budget in 2022).
This single investment — the establishment of an independent commissioner — will help to ensure that Ireland’s various policy commitments relevant to older people are meaningfully monitored and that older people are treated with respect and on an equal basis with the rest of the population.
Download to view the the Alliance Pre-Budget Submission and the Alliance’s position paper, which sets out the rationale for such an office in more detail:
The Alliance membership includes Active Retirement Ireland, Age & Opportunity, ALONE, The Alzheimer Society of Ireland, Irish Hospice Foundation, The Irish Senior Citizens Parliament and Third Age.