An exploratory study of the wealth of older people in Ireland ��� North and South

In 2012, CARDI was asked by The Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister in Northern Ireland to carry out a series of research projects on ageing in Ireland, North and South. This study, An exploratory study of the wealth of older people in Ireland – North and South, was led by Professor Paddy Hillyard, Queen's University Belfast. It had the following objectives: Examine what information is available on the wealth of older people on the island of Ireland. Describe the type and level of housing, property and other assets. Provide comparable estimates of the wealth of older people in Northern Ireland (NI) and the Republic of Ireland (ROI). Draw out the policy implications of the research. Stimulate a wider discussion about wealth and inequalities. Key findings: In NI the total personal wealth was estimated at just under �100 billion. People aged 50 and under were estimated to have 35% of the total wealth, while people aged 50 and over had 65%. Existing data does not allow for a similar comparison in ROI. People aged 65+ in NI have a median disposable weekly income of �280 compared to �494 for those aged 25-49, �452 for those aged 50-64 and �251 for those aged 16-24. In ROI, people aged 65+ have a median disposable weekly income of €446 compared to €790 for those aged 25-49, €654 for those aged 50-64 and €418 for those aged 16-24. In NI, people aged 65+ have the highest rate of home ownership (63%) and the lowest level of outstanding mortgage (3%) of any age group. They also have the highest level of savings (�4,000 on average) but the lowest level of value of household goods (a median of �525). In ROI, 87% of people over 65 own their house outright and 2% own their house with a mortgage. The average value of savings held by this age group is €5,519. In ROI the total value of owner-occupied housing stock was estimated to be €280 billion, of which 54% was held by those under 50. In NI people over 50 had �42.5 billion (60%) of owner-occupied housing assets while those under 50 had �28.2 billion (40%).

Understanding socio-economic inequalities affecting older people

In 2012, CARDI was asked by The Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister in Northern Ireland to carry out a series of research projects on ageing in Ireland, North and South. This research project, 'Understanding socio-economic inequalities affecting older people’ , was carried out by Paul McGill, CARDI. The research sought to answer the following questions: Are there inequalities that affect older people as a group compared with younger people, or inequalities that exist within the older population? How are these inequalities changing over time? Do these socio-economic inequalities have a detrimental impact on older people or on a substantial number of them? How can any harmful socio-economic inequalities be reduced or eliminated and what are the implications for policy-making? Key Findings*: In RoI the poorest older people had a rise of €32 per week between 2004 and 2011 in total incomes while those with the highest incomes had a rise of €255 (CSO 2013). Total incomes of the poorest pensioner couples in NI did not change between 2003-06 and 2008-11 but the best off had a rise of �37 per week (DSD 2013). Employees aged 60+ earn €10,000 less per year than earners in their peak years in RoI and �2,400 less in NI (CSO Database and NISRA 2012). The richest older people in RoI earn 14 times more from employment than the poorest. In NI it is 36 times more for single pensioners and 44 times more for pensioner couples (CSO 2013; NISRA 2013). The gap in weekly earnings between top and bottom earners aged 60+ in NI rose from �294 to �430 between 2005 and 2012 (NISRA 2012). In the two years 2009-2011 the incomes of the poorest older people in ROI declined by €24 per week (11.4%) (CSO, 2013).

Community Education Needs to be Supported by Strong Public Policy to Tackle Food Poverty

Community education needs to be supported by strong public policy if it is to be fully effective at tackling food poverty and obesity, a project evaluation by the Institute of Public Health in Ireland (IPH) has found. In its evaluation of Decent Food for All (DFfA) - a major project to improve community diet and health - IPH found that where people live and shop had a greater impact on their diet than their own individual awareness and attitudes. Access Tackling Food Poverty: lessons from the Decent Food for All intervention at www.publichealth.ie DFfA was funded by safefood (the Food Safety Promotion Board) and the Food Standards Agency Northern Ireland. The project lasted four years and included hundreds of community education activities designed to improve diet in poorer parts of Armagh and South Tyrone. safefood commissioned IPH to undertake the evaluation of DFfA. Dr. Kevin Balanda, IPH Associate Director, said 'The aim of the project was to reduce food poverty (this is defined as not being able to consume adequate healthy food) and improve health in the target communities. DFfA delivered over 370 core activities to 3,100 residents including local education talks on diet, cookery workshops, fresh fruit in schools, healthy food tastings and information stands. One in eight residents in the target areas participated in at least one of these activities.' The evaluation found that over 1 in 5 adults in the target areas reported they had cut their weekly food spending in the last six months to pay other household bills such as rent, electricity and gas. During the four years of the DFfA activities, this percentage had not changed significantly. There were mixed changes in the nature of food in local stores. While the overall availability and price of food increased, both ﾓhealthierﾔ food and ﾓunhealthierﾔ food were included in that increase. It was only in the larger ﾓmultiple/discount freezerﾔ type of shops that the overall price of food had decreased.

IPH response to a Draft Policy Framework for supporting people in Northern Ireland living with long term (or chronic) conditions

The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety recently consulted on a draft Policy Framework for supporting people in Northern Ireland living with long term (or chronic) conditions

Patient Education/Self Management Programmes for People with Long Term Conditions

Regional Summary Report 2012/13

Service Framework for Older People (PDF 1MB)

Easy Access Version

Service Framework for Older People

Easy Access Version

Addressing Young People's Drinking in Northern Ireland: Action to Support the New Strategic Direction for Alcohol and Drugs

This action plan focuses on three main areas: • reducing young people’s demand for alcohol by providing information, education and training to young people and their parents; •restricting the supply of alcohol via measures to reduce accessibility to alcohol (including how alcohol is priced, marketed, and promoted); and • providing treatment and support for those who require additional help. While the emphasis of this action plan is on young people, it recognises that their drinking patterns are very much influenced by modelling the drinking patterns of adults in our society, and it therefore contains actions that will impact on the entire population. Alcohol misuse - however you measure the cost, whether to the individual, the family, the community, the health service, or society as a whole - is one of the biggest public health issues facing Northern Ireland.

Appendices for Complex Needs - The Nursing Response to Children and Young People with Complex Physical Healthcare Needs (PDF 708 KB)

Appendices to Complex Needs Report

Complex Needs - The Nursing Response to Children and Young People with Complex Physical Healthcare Needs (PDF 832 KB)

Departmental review of nursing services in order to ensure that they are facilitated to fully support and respond to children with complex needs and their families, and for them to work in partnership with other professions and agencies.