Sheltered housing needs of elderly set to increase

The provision of sheltered housing for elderly people will have to increase by at least 30 per cent in the next eight years, one of the foremost providers of such accommodation will warn today.

The Clúid Housing Association, which begins construction of a sheltered housing scheme in Ballymun, Dublin, today, said that as the number of people over the age of 65 is projected to increase from 465,000 today to 600,000 by 2015, their changing housing needs will have to be addressed more urgently.

The chairman of Clúid, Simon Brooke, said the demographics were a matter of simple mathematics that "nobody can challenge".

Sheltered housing is provided variously by housing associations and local authorities and involves small complexes of houses or apartments where residents can live independently, but also avail of such supports as home-helps or meals on wheels, should they choose. The schemes usually have a manager on site to keep an eye on residents' welfare.

As sheltered housing is provided by various groups across the State, there are no central figures detailing how many units there are. The National Council on Ageing and Older People is drawing together figures that will be published later this year.

According to Mr Brooke, however, even if there were enough sheltered housing schemes to cater for older people's needs at the moment, this growing older population creates a major challenge. The issue went to the heart of the debate on care of the elderly in a "time-poor" society.

Although society wanted to see people going to nursing homes only if and when they had become highly dependent, younger couples had less time to care for older relatives, especially if both partners were working outside the home.

"Sheltered housing allows people to remain in the community where they have built their lives among friends and neighbours. For some older people, repairs and maintenance may be sufficient to enable them to maintain their independence. On the other hand, for significant minorities, remaining in their own homes independently may no longer be possible. Moving to more manageable accommodation gives older people a new lease of life."

The sod will be turned at the €12 million Clúid scheme in Ballymun today by the Minister of State for Housing, Noel Ahern.

It will provide 43 apartments, along with a lounge, a technology room and a room for social functions, as well as three retail units.

Due for completion in March next year, it has been funded by the Department of the Environment, Dublin City Council and Ballymun Regeneration Ltd, as part of their defined-revenue funding stream for older people's accommodation.