Pat O’Mahony was in Melbourne to visit her daughter, who had given birth to twins. The week the two girls were born, a radio report announced that the average life expectancy for women born that week was 105 years. Hearing the news made him stop and think about the old country.
If today’s babies make it through the first century, what will their later years be like?
He gathered up some ideas, organized them into a train of thought, and threw them in his luggage for the trip home. He was going to write a book about what he considered to be truisms.
“I lived in Australia many years ago and saw how they treated the elderly there,” he says. “They have a retirement village. It’s a simple concept and it’s a big success. As I’m getting older and the people around me are getting older, I thought why not do something similar in my country?” So I sat down and wrote the book and self-published it.”
This concept is natural and not new in most developed countries, but for some reason it remains an alien concept in public life in this country. In Australia, 13% of people aged 65 and over live in retirement villages. A similar group does so in New Zealand, and 17% in the United States.
In these villages, not only the elderly, but also a growing number of elderly people will be able to live independently and safely. They usually consist of residences within a wider community, with all the necessary ancillary services such as shops, pubs, restaurants, common areas and medical services.
The average size of an Australian village is 110 homes, but some are as large as small towns in Ireland. Larger ones may have swimming pools and gyms. All of this together allows you to live an independent life in a safe environment, interacting and interacting with others as much or as needed.
“When I talk to some people about this, they think I’m talking about nursing homes,” he says.
In Australia, this concept is governed by legislation introduced in the 1990s. The agreement has been updated in recent years following harsh practices by some parties to the agreement, but overall these villages are now a vital option for entrants, rather than in the twilight that was once characterized. It is considered that However, in the “Third Age”, life slows down, but there is still promise to live to the fullest.
In his book O’Mahony presented some interesting research from Down Under.
A 2016 National Property Council survey revealed some statistics about the council-run villages.
- 63% of residents are women.
- 68% of homes are occupied by a single resident.
- The average age of residents is 81 years old, and 76% are over 75 years old.
- Currently, the average age of residents entering the village is 74 years old.
- The average length of time that residents live in the village is 8 to 9 years.
Mr O’Mahony is also conducting research from the UCC into the demographic trends in this country that are ripe for profound change. Approximately 30% of people over 65 live alone, while 60% of people over 80 live alone.
“I don’t understand why the state isn’t involved. You’re talking about improving the quality of life for people at that stage in different ways,” he says. “Currently, all county development plans include mention of the need to do something for senior living, but it is a kind of wish list, encouraging people to so-called downsize. I am making a statement like this.
“It’s not about moving from a bigger house to a smaller one, but about moving into a suitable, central home designed to meet your needs and extend your independent living immeasurably.”
That’s what drives his passion. The concept of a retirement village is all about the quality of life in the game stage, where proactive measures need to be taken so that the enjoyment of life is not unnecessarily spoiled as time passes.
By his own account, he has lived a full life. Originally from Inniscarra, Co. Cork, he was educated locally and completed a degree in agriculture at UCC. “Like many people of my generation, I considered becoming a priest, but then the opportunity to become an agricultural advisor came along and I thought it was just a different way of administering government. ,” he says.
An inquiry from the local VEC led him to take a different path and continue his professional life in the education industry. “I don’t know why anyone would complain about it as a profession, since I really enjoyed teaching.” I went to see friends for six or seven hours every day, and I can’t say much about it. .”
He immigrated to Australia with his wife Mary and was employed at various stages in schools in New South Wales, before continuing to work for the State Board of Education. Attracted to their hometown, the couple returned with their young family in the early 1990s and settled in Newbridge, where he was principal of a local second-tier college.
Now retired, O’Mahony can look back not only on his clearly fulfilling career, but also on the family he grew up in and how support wasn’t available to most people these days.
“When I was young, I grew up in a multigenerational household,” he says. “Those days are gone and sons and daughters very often do not live near their elderly parents. I know that.
“Right now we offer childcare services, but what’s the other side of the coin? We have to pay close attention to previous buyers as much as we do first-time buyers. ”
Mr O’Mahony sent his book to every TD and councilor in the country. Everyone I contacted was in favor. There is nothing wrong with a plan designed to ensure that first world countries can provide the means for a high standard of retirement living.
But as with other issues, the enthusiasm of politicians is not the issue. Action is what creates the obstacles in it, and there appears to be no political will to dismantle them.
“Why aren’t there special use zones for nursing homes?” he says. “Look at all the areas in towns and villages that are no longer inhabited and are unlikely to ever be used.” In his book, he describes the basic actions required of governments. .
These include:
- “Laws supported by regulations that are fit for purpose and promote the interests of all involved in the provision of housing for seniors.”
- “In particular, there is a need to protect the interests of people who leave their family home and move into purpose-built elderly care facilities. There has to be an absolute guarantee.”
- “It is necessary to establish a national code of conduct for the residents of the village after retirement. This code should be supported by legislation, resolve disputes and considerately enforce the results of such procedures. It should include clear instructions for how to do so.”
- “Local authorities need to incorporate aging planning at every level of the planning process.”
He points out that there are specific provisions in the plan for the provision of public housing in large-scale developments.
“We need to do something similar when it comes to housing for seniors. But rather than setting aside private residences and grounds, we need to free up blocks of land so that we can develop complexes with a mix of private and communal housing. We need to secure it.”
Mr O’Mahony believes retirement villages will be introduced in Ireland in a similar way to parts of social infrastructure overseas. That’s true, but the big question is how long people using such facilities will have to wait.
He cited a phrase he had heard from Australian civil servants: “creeping increase”. This sums up the attitude of permanent governments in most developed countries. This ethic seems to say that if change is needed, it can only happen slowly and at a pace that never disrupts the status quo.
The enemy of such an approach is time, and time is one of the most precious things for people in the later stages of life.
“We just need to take the leap and figure it out,” he says. “We tend to think about housing in terms of the same old homes. But we have a changing society and we need to meet that challenge. We need to provide quality of life and we need to take action.”
- This week’s guest is Pat O’Mahony.
