Ireland is ageing, and ageing rapidly. The Central Statistics Office estimates that while there were five working-age people for every pensioner in 1991, this will fall to 3.5 by 2031 and just 2.3 by 2051.
A key reason for this is that people are living longer, healthier lives. While this is unambiguously a hugely positive outcome, it comes with it some fiscal costs.
One of these is the increased cost of State pensions. The Department of Finance forecast that this will rise from 3.8 per cent of national income in 2019 to 5 per cent by 2030, and more than doubling to 7.9 per cent by 2050 – an increase equivalent to what the Department of Education and Skills currently spends every year.