Cathair Aoisbhá

What is the Age Friendly Programme?

Over the next 30 years, the number of people in Ireland over the age of 55 will double and the number over 80 will quadruple. Ireland is now in an ideal position to prepare for successful population ageing. Ireland’s Age Friendly Cities and Counties Programme is a national programme being rolled out across the country to ensure that our counties, cities and towns are age friendly and meet the needs of older people.

It is adapted from the World Health Organisation’s Global Age Friendly Cities and Communities programme, which says that,

“In practical terms, an age-friendly city adapts its structures and services to be accessible to and inclusive of older people with varying needs and capacities."



Dublin is the first capital city in the world to have adopted a city-wide approach to becoming age friendly.

Dublin Age Friendly City Strategy 2014-19

Dublin City’s Age Friendly Strategy 2014-2019 is a five-year plan to improve the quality of lives of people over the age of 55. The strategy was launched on 10th September 2014.

Download the full “Dublin City Age Friendly Strategy” in pdf format below.

For administrative purposes, Dublin City Council is divided into five areas. An Older Persons Council and Age Friendly Alliance have been set up in each of these areas.

Your Area

For further information on your area, please contact your area co-ordinator on the details below:

Older People’s Council: (OPC)

This is a representative group of older people, established by local authorities as part of the development of the Age Friendly City/County programme. The group of older people identify priority areas of need, raise issues of importance and inform and influence the decision-making process of the City or County Age Friendly initiatives. Representatives of Older People’s councils participate, alongside representatives of the relevant member agencies, on the Age Friendly City/County Alliance.

In addition to taking on specific commitments related to the implementation of the Age Friendly City/County Strategies, the Older People’s Council also provides a citizen of service user perspective in monitoring the implementation of these strategies. The Older People’s Councils are, over time, intended to be representative of the diversity of the older population in the city and county, linked to local older people’s groups and supportive of the participation of the most marginalised.

http://agefriendlyireland.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/online_OPC-GUIDE.pdf

Area Alliance

This involves key local stakeholders reflecting sectors represented on the City Alliance. The development and implementation of the Age Friendly Area Section Plans are the responsibility of the local Area Alliances. Each Area Alliance will be supported by an Older Persons Council, a Service Providers Forum and an Age Friendly Business Forum, all representing local interests.

City Wide Alliance

This is a high-level, overarching strategic partnership that brings together representatives of older people in the city with the public, as well as voluntary, community, academic and private sectors. The City Alliance oversees the realisation of the goals and actions of the Strategy and supports the work of the local Area Alliances.

Structure

Our Projects

As part of the delivery of the ‘Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness 2016’, a series of ‘Pathfinder Projects’ were identified. The Dublin Age Friendly Housing with Support project is one of just two Pathfinder projects focused on meeting older people’s housing with support needs.

Message In A Bottle (MIB)

Message in a Bottle (MIB) is a simple idea designed to encourage people to keep their personal and medical details on a standard form and in a common location: the fridge. The bottle contains an information leaflet which is kept in a small plastic bottle with a push-fit lid and then kept in the fridge, where emergency services will expect to look for it in the event of being called to someone’s home.

While the Message in a Bottle project focuses on more vulnerable people in our community, there is a benefit for everyone as accidents can happen to anyone in their home. 10,000 bottles will be distributed by Housing and Community staff to relevant tenants/groups; while members of the general public can pick one up, free of charge, from their local area office.

For further information on Dublin City Age Friendly Programme, contact Beatrice Casserly on the details below:

Beatrice Casserly

Dublin City Age Friendly Programme Manager

Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8.

T: 087 9140107

E: [email protected]