CHAPTER 6 - HOME

Older people are a very heterogeneous group, with diverse needs, preferences and levels of independence.  The freedom to make, and continue making, choices is perhaps the greatest single index of well-being and this is especially true when it comes to choice of home and living environment.

Demographic change will mean that today’s figures of 400,000 older people living at home is likely to increase to 1 million by 2022, one third of whom will have a disability (Connell and Pringle, 2004). Home ownership is high in Ireland: 93.2% of older people live in private households, with 66.5% living with others and 26.7% living alone. Older householders, and in particular, those over 65 years, are likely to own their homes outright (O Shea 2005).

The statistics suggest that there are more women (31.7%) than men (20.6%) living alone in Ireland (CSO 2007).  This proportion decreased in the older age groups from 78.3% who were living with others of the 65-69 age groups, to 43.7% of the 85 years and over age group. In the group of people aged 85 and over, almost 25% were living in communal establishments and a little less than a third were living alone.

This section looks at the needs of older people living independently in their own homes or with family members, and explores the factors enabling them to continue doing so.