Madam, - On behalf of those involved in research into successful ageing in Ireland, we would like to congratulate The Irish Times for its extensive and innovative focus on later life over the past week. Your surveys reveal a sector of the population that is open, mature, outward-looking and eager to participate in society. Far from being a "demographic time-bomb", they represent a demographic bounty.
However, the surveys also reveal the complexity and heterogeneity of later life, and our society needs to develop more sophisticated attitudes and responses to not only to the opportunities but also the challenges of later life. While some initiatives, such as medical cards for the over-70s, have been of major benefit, often services and supports have been under-developed or simplistic, and major shifts have taken place in areas such as transport, pensions and health without adequate public consultation and planning.
We call on the Taoiseach to activate a high-level, inter-departmental group that would, in conjunction with older people's advocacy organisations and based on research carried out in Ireland and elsewhere, galvanise the planning of a society that would be truly for all ages. - Yours, etc,
Prof DESMOND O'NEILL,
Secretary,
Dr CILLIAN TWOMEY,
Chairman,
Irish Gerontological Society,
Dublin 16.