Is Ireland sliding into a gerontocracy where the older generation dominates?

Gap between the haves and have-nots in Irish society is beginning to be defined generationally as our ageing politicians look after older voters, writes Theo McDonald

The spectre of career politician and septuagenarian Michael Lowry (pictured) giving Paul Murphy the two fingers in the Dáil chamber as the new government was formed could not have shown more clearly whose interests they will represent.

A gerontocracy is a system where the elderly hold sway, governing by and for their own interests. The concept traces back to the classical period, with Plato describing a society where “the elder man rules, and the younger submits.” 

In Sparta, the Gerousia, a council of elders including two kings and nearly 30 elite full-citizen men of the city state of Sparta over 60, wielded significant judicial and legislative power, embodying this structure. The term “senate” derives from the Latin senex, meaning old man.