The Lord Mayor Cllr Vincent Jackson has launched Dublin City Council’s ‘Ageing Together: Positive Steps’ Policy Report to shape an ‘age friendly’ city. The City Council has established an Office for Ageing and Older People led by a senior City Council official.

It plans to implement the recommendations of ‘Ageing Together: Positive Steps’ across its own services in housing, health and well-being, education and life long learning, access, mobility and transport, environment and personal safety, leisure, arts and culture.

The Council will compile a database of volunteers in all areas, utilising the skills of older people or those making the transition from the work force towards retirement– the Lord Mayor wants to hear from people interesting in registering their names.

“Many people begin to look towards retiring from full-time work from the age of 55 onwards,” notes the Lord Mayor. “It is particularly important that they would have a positive view of the ageing process and plan for active involvement in leisure and other activity– all of which can be enabled through a city-wide age-friendly focus on their needs.

“I have made it a priority of my year in office,” continues the Lord Mayor “to focus attention on our responsibility and duty towards those who have devoted their lives to shaping our city, making us what we are and giving us what we have today. My intention is that this will not be a one-year wonder, but rather that the principles behind this initiative will be sustained and deeply ingrained in our culture for the coming generations of Dubliners”.

What is an age-friendly city?
An age-friendly city is a city that promotes and enables all its citizens to embrace opportunity as they grow older and to be active throughout the process of ageing. The age-friendly city should also promote a positive understanding and attitude to ageing among people of all ages through acknowledging the need for ‘positive ageing’ policies. Dublin City Council believes that older people make a valuable contribution to the life of the city as active citizens, volunteers, employees, neighbours and carers. Older people have the same rights and responsibilities as younger adults to contribute to the city as ‘active citizens’ in its community life and within its institutions.