Ireland is living in the Stone Age when it comes to providing suitable housing options for older people, according to the head of Home and Community Care Ireland (HCCI).
Speaking at the HCCI annual conference in Dungarvan, CEO Joseph Musgrave revealed that bureaucratic hurdles and policy gaps are blocking the development of much-needed retirement villages across the country.
While countries like England and Australia boast successful retirement communities, Ireland lags behind with only a handful of examples, such as McAuley Place in Naas and Great Northern Haven in Dundalk.
Musgrave highlighted a recent case where a private business had to abandon plans for a 50-unit supported living development despite being willing to take on all financial risks. “The HSE were supportive of the idea but have no framework to authorise it,” he explained.
These modern retirement villages typically feature GP practices, leisure facilities, and adaptable living spaces with safety features like grab rails and wide lifts. They offer an alternative to the traditional choice between staying at home or moving to a nursing home.
According to The Irish Examiner, the situation is particularly stark in Cork, where the homecare waiting list stands at 1,100 people for a population of 600,000, compared to Dublin’s list of 527 for 1.8 million residents.
“Ireland is good at talking about building these options,” Musgrave noted. “The problem is there is no framework to actually build them.”
Despite record government investment in homecare since 2020, the HCCI chief emphasized that the lack of suitable housing infrastructure continues to hamper efforts to provide comprehensive care for Ireland’s aging population.