Expert warns of ageing challenge

The Government faces an increasingly tough challenge in providing home care for the State's ageing population, a Trinity College Dublin academic has warned.

"These challenges arise from increases in the older population, a rise in female labour market participation and possible decreases in the availability of family care," according to Dr Virpi Timonen.

She was speaking last night at the launch of a book on caring for ageing populations.

Home Care for Ageing Populations: A Comparative Analysis of Domiciliary Care in Denmark, the United States and Germany was co-authored by Dr Timonen, of TCD's social policy and ageing research centre, and Martha Doyle.

Dr Timonen said that Ireland's population was growing increasingly older and forecasts from the Economic and Social Research Institute suggest that this could provide a major problem for carers in years to come.

The current ratio of four working people for every one person over 65 years will fall to two and a half within 20 years and one and a half by the middle of the century.

In most cases, older people have a preference for continuing to live in their own home.

The Minister of State with responsibility for Older People, Máire Hoctor, launched the book and said that the Government had recently established an interdepartmental committee "to oversee an independent evaluation of the home-care package service nationally."

© 2008 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times