STREAMLINING RESEARCH will ensure Ireland is in a good position to cater for its increasingly aged population, the director of a new ageing organisation has said.
By 2050, it is expected that 29 per cent of the State's population will be aged over 60. To address this population change, the Centre for Ageing Research and Development in Ireland (Cardi) will unveil its strategy 2008-2011 on Thursday.
Dr Roger O'Sullivan, director of Cardi, said ageing research is vital in the current climate and that decisions on policies and practices for older people will be made on the best available information, so they can be of benefit for years to come.
"The underlying theme of Cardi is to help research play its role in improving the quality of life of older people in Ireland and helping to plan for a better future. We believe it is essential to ensure our older population live life to the full and Cardi believes those designing and developing services should have access to the latest research thinking in their area," he said.
The number of people aged 65 and over in Ireland increased by 54,000 in the last decade and there are now some 400 Irish people aged over 100.
The current ratio of four working people for every one person over 65 years will fall to 2.5 within 20 years, and to 1.5 by the middle of the century.
To address these changes, Cardi will prioritise co-ordinating ageing research, in areas such as economic security, quality of life and healthy ageing.
It believes that specialists in health, social care, engineering, technology, housing, transport, economics and sociology will be required to ensure a smooth transition to a society that can cater for an older population.
"We have an ageing population and are living longer than before," said Dr O'Sullivan. "An ageing population is not a problem, it is an issue for celebration. Around 11 per cent of Irish people are over 65 and we are in a good place to start planning for the future and for when we reach the EU average, which is about 17 per cent."
