Age Friendly Towns in Ireland

Abstract

Ireland Program has worked with local governments to ensure their communities meet the needs of all ages from the oldest to the youngest. Hosted and run by Meath County Council, the program was developed initially with philanthropic funding, with local governments taking the lead in developing multi-agency alliance structures in each municipal area.1 Today all 31 local authorities in Ireland lead age-friendly programs, making Ireland the first country in the world that has achieved full, country-wide membership in the World Health Organization’s Global Network of Age Friendly Cities and Communities. This commitment by all local authorities was critical to mainstreaming the program as a local government shared service in 2018. This service is now anchored in four government departments, in addition to the policing service, the Health Service Executive, and the business community via Chamber of Commerce Ireland. The national government buy-in is cited as a critical success factor, supporting cross-departmental work to advance the age-friendly community agenda. Local Age Friendly Alliance structures are the key delivery mechanism for initiatives to prepare for population aging, with their strength deriving from their inherent multi-sector nature. These alliances comprise senior representatives from the main public-sector agencies in each county and city, the business community, universities, transport companies and elected representatives, working together with representatives of Older People’s Councils. This proven multisectoral partnership is highly effective and the program has gained significant traction in recent years, particularly in the development of Age Friendly Housing and the Public Realm, Age Friendly Towns, and integrated service delivery between local governments and health services. Age Friendly Towns in Ireland