Ireland has the smallest ageing population in the European Union with only 11 per cent of the country aged 65 and over, new figures show.
The Central Statistics Office released the figures today which shows Ireland's population aged 65 and over falls below the European Union average of 17 percent.
In 2006, 467,900 people were aged 65 or over in Ireland, the report said.
While the figure is well below the EU average, population projections suggest about one quarter of Ireland's population will fall into the 65 and over age bracket by 2026.
Welfare groups say the figures put Ireland in a good position to deal with the needs of its ageing population now.
Age Action Ireland spokesman Gerard Scully said Ireland was in a better position regarding its dependency ratio or the number of older people relying on the younger generation to support them.
"Now is the time for Ireland to put in place measures to manage the needs of the ageing population," he said.
Poverty among the ageing population had decreased with the increase in the old age pension and Ireland was above the EU average for the number of people aged 65 and over who were working but more needed to be done to prepare for the 'demographic time bomb' which would see 25 per cent of Ireland's population aged 65 an over by 2026, Mr Scully said.
This included helping older people return to work, linking the state pension with the average industrial wage and looking at a more flexible approach to retirement.
The figures show older people were not as well educated as the younger population with 48 percent of those aged 65 or over only attaining primary or no formal education at all.
Men aged over 65 in Ireland had a much higher rate of employment than the EU average, 14 per cent compared to 7 per cent while 4 per cent or Irish women aged over 65 were working compared to EU rate of 3 per cent.
Men and women in this age group were engaged in quite different sectors of the economy.
In 2006, 49 per cent of men aged 65 and over who were employed were engaged in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector compared to 13 per cent of women.
In contrast the proportion of women at work aged 65 & over employed in the health sector was 23 per cent compared to only 2 per cent of men.
"A mandatory retirement age should be a thing of the past," Mr Scully said.
The figures also show there has been a significant narrowing of the gap between the death rates for men and women aged 65 & over, with the male rate coming more into line with the female rate.
The male rate decreased from 77 per 1,000 in 1980 to 51 in 2005 while the corresponding female rates were 60 per 1,000 and 44 per 1,000.