Irish Examiner view: We need to focus on policy around ageing

Ireland needs joined-up thinking about how to plan for an ageing population

The arguments about the Fair Deal scheme are a specific example of a much wider malaise and structural problem within our society. Picture: iStock

The arguments about the injustices of the Fair Deal scheme on nursing home subsidies are a specific example of a much wider malaise and structural problem within our society — the total lack of cohesion and joined-up thinking about how to plan for an ageing population.

It is a challenge that touches upon every aspect of our lives. From employment to pensions to taxation; from health to housing; from the madcap and often self-serving rush to apply technology as a salve to every problem, to transport policy aspirations which are over-reliant on a switch to cycling and walking. And overarching everything is the question of the regard and respect in which the aged are held.