Press release
Ministers for Health announce appointment of members of Commission on Care for Older People
From Department of Health
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Health
Published on
Last updated on
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly and Minister of State for Mental Health and Older People, Mary Butler, today announced the appointment of the members of the Commission on Care for Older People.
The government is committed to supporting older people to access timely, high-quality, person-centred, integrated care in the most appropriate setting and to supporting positive ageing across the lifecourse.
The Commission on Care for Older People will examine the health and social care services and supports for older people across the continuum of care and make recommendations for their strategic developments. The Commission members provide expertise across the areas of geriatrics, gerontology, health economics, health policy and management, primary care, health ethics, health technologies, and ageing and disability.
A Reference Group of stakeholders will provide expertise and lived experience of the diverse and evolving needs of our ageing population and include the community and voluntary sector and older people representatives.
Announcing the members’ appointment, Minister Donnelly said:
"I am really pleased to announce the appointment of such a distinguished group of experts to the Commission. As leaders in their respective fields, they will bring to the Commission a wealth of knowledge and experience across specialities as diverse as geriatrics, gerontology, health economics, health policy and management, primary care, health ethics, health technologies, and ageing and disability. The appointment of representatives of the community and voluntary sectors and of older people will ensure that Commission’s work is informed by the lived experience of people across Ireland."
Heralding the members’ appointment as a significant step towards the establishment of the Commission, Minister Butler said:
"With their breadth of expertise and experience, the members of the Commission will ensure that the Commission’s recommendations are informed by emerging good practice and lessons learnt nationally and internationally. Most importantly, I am confident that the Commission and the Reference Group will ensure the voice of older people themselves is heard. I look forward to the establishment of the Commission in the coming weeks and to receiving their reports in due course."
Under the Chairperson Professor Alan Barrett (Chief Executive Officer of the Economic and Social Research Institute), the Commission will be comprised of the following members:
The Programme for Government: Our Shared Future (2020) commits to the establishment of ‘a commission to examine care and supports for older people’.
On 3 October 2023, Government approved the proposal, brought forward by the Minister for Health and the Minister for Mental Health and Older People for the establishment of an independent Commission on Care for Older People.
On 14 December 2023 the Minister for Health and the Minister for Mental Health and Older People announced the appointment of Professor Alan Barrett (Chief Executive Officer of the Economic and Social Research Institute) as the Chairperson of the Commission.
The Commission, which will be supported by a secretariat from the Department of Health, will be formally established imminently.
The work of the Commission will be advanced through three discrete modules of work. The first two modules will be of six months’ duration while the final module will be of 12 months’ duration. The modules will run consecutively, the first module is due to commence in early 2024.
Module 1 will explore current services and learning for the future, particularly focusing on; health and social care services, models of supported living for older people, and policy initiative that are in train within the social care system.
Module 2 will explore options for the future, particularly focusing on: the strategic development of health and social care, the strategic development of capital infrastructure, new technologies, and funding and resource allocation.
A report will be prepared after Module 2 for the consideration of the Minister for Health and Minister of State for Mental Health and Older People detailing the challenges and opportunities identified, and presenting a framework for the overarching strategic development of health and social care services and supports for older people that advances national strategic objectives.
Subsequently, a cross-departmental group will be established under the auspices of the Commission to consider whether the supports for positive ageing across the lifecourse are fit-for-purpose and to develop a costed implementation plan for options to optimise these supports.