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Press release

Minister for Mental Health and Older People launches national rollout of the Healthy Age Friendly Homes Programme

  • €5.2 million in annual recurring funding from the older persons budget in the Department of Health has enabled expansion of Healthy Age Friendly Homes Programme from nine pilot sites to all 31 local authorities nationwide
  • Healthy Age Friendly Homes Programme is an innovative support coordination programme to help older people live healthier and independent lives in their own homes for longer
  • Over 4,600 home visits and over 9,000 supports provided between May 2021 and December 2023 – national rollout of programme will support up to 10,500 older people per year
  • WHO cites approach taken by the programme as a best practice example for the provision of person-centred integrated care for older people

Minister for Mental Health and Older People, Mary Butler along with Minister for Local Government and Planning, Alan Dillon, today launched the national rollout of the Healthy Age Friendly Homes (HAFH) programme.

The launch marks the official opening of the programme in each of the country’s 31 local authorities and the publication of the final evaluation report of the programme’s pilot phase.

The cross-sectoral nature of this programme is the first of its kind, with key partners including the Department of Health, Health Service Executive (HSE), Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Age Friendly Ireland, and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI).

The programme provides an important, rounded model of care which supports older people to remain in their own homes, where possible, to avoid hospital admission through the provision of care in the community, and to ultimately avoid early or unnecessary admission to residential care.

The programme works in simple steps:

  • Participants can self-refer themselves or be referred into the programme by family members, friends, healthcare providers, social prescribers, or members of the community (for example, Gardaí).
  • Once referred into the programme, participants will receive a home visit from a Local Coordinator who is based in their local authority and has good links into statutory and non-statutory services in the community.
  • The Local Coordinator – based in the local authority - will carry out an assessment of their needs across six domains: health, housing, social and community supports, assistive technologies, climate, and finance.
  • Local Coordinators then work with each older person to design a personalised action plan under each of these areas to support them to live healthily and independently in their own home for as long as possible. Examples of interventions include access to primary care, public health nurse, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, meals on wheels, befriending services, housing adaptation grants, home energy retrofits, and assistive technologies such as wearable devices, pendants and fall detectors.

The pilot phase of the programme met and exceeded its aims and goals with over 4,600 home visits and over 9,000 supports provided across the programme’s six domains between May 2021 and December 2023. The national rollout of the programme aims to support up to 10,500 older people per year.

A sample group of older people were invited to take part in the evaluation of the pilot programme conducted by Maynooth University. The evaluation found the programme demonstrated improvements in measurements of older peoples’ self-reported health status, quality of life, loneliness, social supports, self-efficacy, and functional ability.

In addition, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has cited the approach taken by the programme as a best practice example for the provision of person-centred integrated care for older people.

Minister Butler, said:

“I am delighted to launch the Healthy Age Friendly Homes Programme, having overseen its development from an initial pilot across nine sites in 2021 to a full national rollout in 2024. The programme is open to referrals nationwide with local coordinators now in place in each of the 31 local authorities.

“The pilot phase of the programme has demonstrated that it has and will have a positive impact on the quality of life for our older people and help them to live at home for longer. It is a wonderful example of Sláintecare in action, working across multiple sectors and government departments to deliver a truly person-centred care programme that tailors support to the needs of each person.”

Fundamental to the success of the programme has been the active collaboration between agencies including the Department of Health; Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage; the HSE; and Local Authorities, in addition to the relationships established with local care teams.

Minister for Local Government and Planning, Alan Dillon, at Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, said:

“Positive ageing is a priority for this government and ensuring older people make informed decisions on their housing needs is key. The policy context for delivery of Healthy Age Friendly Homes is Housing for All, which sets out to increase the housing options available to older people to facilitate ageing with dignity and independence, including an emphasis on rightsizing and health supports for ageing in place.

“Healthy Age Friendly Homes has great potential to be a major component in the broader strategy to prepare society for the projected increase in the older demographic. I commend Meath County Council and Age Friendly Ireland Shared Service for hosting this innovative programme, and all 31 Local Authorities for their critical participation in the delivery of this service.”

Moving into the national rollout phase, the programme will continue to seek out opportunities to establish partnerships with other agencies and organisations in the delivery of wraparound supports for older people.

Kieran Kehoe, Chief Executive of Meath County Council, and host of Age Friendly Ireland Shared Service said:

“The vision of our Public Service Transformation Strategy is to deliver inclusive, high quality and integrated public services that meet the needs and improve the lives of the people of Ireland.

“Healthy Age Friendly Homes is an exemplar of excellence in public services, in that it brings an integrated approach between local government, health and community services – working cross sectionally in relation to the policy objectives of several government departments.”

Notes to editor:

The national rollout of the Healthy Age Friendly Homes Programme was launched on 10 July 2024 by the Minister for Mental Health and Older People Mary Butler along with Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage Alan Dillon. It is delivered by Local Government through the Age Friendly Ireland Shared Service hosted by Meath County Council.

The programme has received recurring funding of €5.2 million from the older persons budget in the Department of Health since Budget 2023 to expand from nine pilot sites to roll out nationally. Using a population-based approach, each of the country’s 31 local authorities will host a local coordinator, with some areas receiving more based on their population's needs. Regional managers will be aligned to HSE Health Regions, to ensure alignment with health and social care services.

Operating in nine sites throughout the country since 2021, the pilot phase of the programme has met and exceeded its aims and goals. From May 2021 to December 2023, the Healthy Age Friendly Homes Programme had:

  • 4007 referrals made to the programme
  • 4,648 home visits by local coordinators
  • 9,030 supports provided

The approach taken by the Healthy Age Friendly Homes Programme has been cited by the World Health Organisation as a best practice example for the provision of person-centred integrated care for older people. It has also been highlighted as a case study in the first progress report of the UN Decade of Ageing published in November 2023.

Healthy Age Friendly Homes is strategically aligned with a number of government policies, including:

  • The Programme for Government (Universal Healthcare, Climate Action).
  • The shared Department of Health and Department of Housing policy statement ‘Housing Options for our Ageing Population’.
  • Sláintecare.
  • Housing for All.
  • The Healthy Communities Programme.
  • The World Health Organisation’s ‘Housing and Health Guidelines’.

Learn more about Mary and Paul, a couple in their 80’s from Co. Meath who has gone through the Healthy Age Friendly Homes programme to live independently for longer here.

Case Study

Mary and Paul

Mary self-referred into the Healthy Age Friendly Homes (HAFH) programme after attending the Meath Cares about Older Persons information event at Fairyhouse in May 2023.

The HAFH Co-ordinator contacted Mary and arranged a visit to her home to meet with her and her husband Paul, who had been diagnosed with vascular dementia. The co-ordinator explained the Healthy Age Friendly Homes Programme and how they could assist and support the couple in signposting services that would improve their living circumstances.

Mary was feeling very overwhelmed when she first met with her HAFH local co-ordinator. She felt she had nowhere to go to when looking for help and support and was unaware of what she was entitled to.

Following Mary’s first assessment she is now in receipt of the following supports:

  • Applied for and now in receipt of the Carers Allowance
  • Applied for and now in receipt of the Fuel Allowance
  • Applied for the SEAI Warmer Homes Scheme (WHS)
  • Contacted Home Support Service to manage the aspects of care received
  • Applied for a Home Adaptation Grant (HAG) and Mobility Aids Grant (MAG)

The coordinator delivered this to the local authority and is following up on its progress.

The HAFH co-ordinator also identified other areas that the programme would be able to assist Mary and Paul with going forward and in order not to overwhelm Mary, the co-ordinator will carry out additional visits to further assist and support the couple.

Describing her experience participating in the programme, Mary said:

“The HAFH local co-ordinator is the best thing that has happened to me in a long time, I feel like there is somebody that is fighting for me, has helped get me what I’m entitled to and made a difference in my life.”