Five weeks ago, Lynda Forsyth (64) relocated from Bray, Co Wicklow, where she spent nearly 40 years, to become one of the first residents at a gated, senior-living community in Killenard, Co Laois.
“It’s everything we wanted,” Ms Forsyth said. “Living on a ground floor. Even at this age, if I get stiff if I’m sitting too long or whatever, trying to climb the stairs at home, the hips would start acting up. That’s all part of getting old.”
She had been living with her husband Stephen in a four-bedroom house. Their three children had moved away, starting families of their own. The couple wanted something smaller in a safe area, with access to services that would benefit them as they grew older.
After searching around, they settled on Heritage Village, a new residential model for people aged 55 and over. To that end, it is not a retirement village, though it will be home for many retired people when its community is complete.
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At the moment, a handful of residents have set up in some of Heritage Village’s 47 property units. When construction is complete, there will be 166 houses and a community hub providing supports such as medical care, home maintenance, exercise facilities and social space.
A bar and restaurant will be included, as will courts for padel and pickleball. A full-time administrator will also be on hand to liaise with residents and take care of issues that arise around, for instance, plumbing or electricity.
“The security is a big thing as we get older,” said Ms Forsyth. “If you’re in a housing estate, you have no way of being secure there, but this is specifically for an older age group.”
At some stage in the future, it may be possible to rent property in Heritage Village. For now, they are strictly for sale, with the lowest-price build available for €325,000.
Marion Dillon (72) is another of the first settlers. She had lived with her partner Pat in a four-bedroom dormer bungalow near Kinnegad, Co Westmeath. It was an acre of land that needed to be maintained. The two decided several years ago that they wanted to find a more appropriate living space.
They viewed the properties at Heritage Village last November and decided to make the move, agreeing a sale of their previous house in April and moving into their new two-bed at the end of July.
Though she is seven years retired, Ms Dillon still works two days a week as a midwife. Health and wellness are important to her, in terms of having access to amenities for social interaction and exercise, and having onsite medical rooms where doctors can treat residents.
“As we go more and more into our senior years, we know that we can have health issues,” says Ms Dillon. “Knowing that the facility will be provided if we should need it . . . is a great reassurance. The only other option would be nursing homes and I certainly believe that the best place is always your own home.”
The project was the idea of developer Tommy Keane, who is also the man behind The Heritage hotel in Killenard and the local golf course of the same name. Construction on the village began in 2023.
Maurice Harrington is the Heritage Village sales manager. He worked as a real estate agent on the Costa del Sol for 20 years. Mr Harrington says he felt inspired to get involved in this project after seeing a lack of alternative housing available to his mother when she received an Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 2011.
Speaking at the formal opening of the scheme on Tuesday, Mr Harrington said prospective residents have a similar list of opening questions: “Will they settle in a place like this? What amenities are here? We strive very diligently to give the impression that it’s going to be an active place to live.”
Inquiries are reaching him from Ireland and abroad. An increasing number of Americans are looking to move to Ireland in retirement. He says he receives a lot of calls from Irish expatriates around the world looking to set their older parents up with housing at home.
In September, the Department of Finance published a report on Ireland’s ageing population, identifying the next decade as a crucial period for action before the situation around caring for older people becomes unmanageable.
Camille Loftus, head of advocacy at Age Action, views retirement villages and similar developments as “part of the suite of options that should be available” in Irish housing. But, she says, there needs to be a greater focus on age-friendly builds across all areas of the sector.
“We have not been building age-friendly homes as part of general housing development and that is a failure,” Ms Loftus says. “We don’t know how many age-friendly homes were built under Housing for All: we didn’t count them. What gets measured, gets managed. We won’t deliver the homes suitable for older people that we need unless we set targets and measure our progress under the Government’s new housing plan.”
That new plan, named Delivering Homes, Building Communities, was published last month. Like Housing for All, it promises the delivery of homes for older people. However, Ms Loftus says a national indicator is needed to track progress on that goal and ensure it is a priority.
More people are now approaching old age in the private rental sector, placing them in a vulnerable position.
“When you think about the national debate that we have on housing at the moment, you don’t hear older people as part of that mix at all,” she says. “It’s families, it’s children, it’s homelessness, it’s student accommodation – but housing for older people is an important part of the solution too.”
