| dc.description | Ireland’s National Positive Ageing Strategy (NPAS) aims to address the broader social and economic
determinants of healthy and positive ageing across the life course. The NPAS draws on the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Active Ageing Framework which highlights action needed on three fronts: participation, health and security. The NPAS has four goals: three based on the WHO’s action areas and a fourth which focuses on research. These goals are to:
• Remove barriers to participation and provide more opportunities for the continued involvement of
people as they age in all aspects of cultural, economic and social life in their communities according to
their needs, preferences and capacities;
• Support people as they age to maintain, improve or manage their physical and mental health
and wellbeing;
• Enable people to age with confidence, security and dignity in their own homes and communities for
as long as possible;
• Support and use research about people as they age to better inform policy responses to population
ageing in Ireland.
The NPAS emphasises that ‘older’ people are not a homogeneous group, and that everyone has different
experiences and expectations of ageing, and these differences can arise due to differences in material
resources, level of educational attainment, health status and life experiences. As such, as some people
get older their risk of poor health, loss of independence, financial vulnerability or social isolation and
loneliness will increase at a greater rate compared with others. In acknowledgement of this, the NPAS
calls for particular attention to be paid to the need and circumstances of groups in Irish society who
have a greater level of vulnerability as they age, including minority groups such as Irish Travellers.
According to the most recent Census of the Population in 2016 there were 30,987 Irish Travellers
resident in the State. | en |
