On Wednesday 15 July, Professor Mary McCarron and Dr Martin McMahon of the Trinity Centre for Ageing and the Life Course in Intellectual Disability (TCAID), appeared before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Disability Matters to discuss the ageing, complexity and health needs of people with intellectual disabilities.

Drawing on almost two decades of evidence from IDS-TILDA (The Intellectual Disability Supplement to The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing), they highlighted both the progress that has been made and the significant challenges that remain in ensuring people with intellectual disabilities can age with dignity, good health and full inclusion.

The discussion focused on a range of important issues, including:

  • Earlier onset of frailty and complex health conditions
  • Community living, accessible housing and future care planning
  •  Supporting ageing family carers
  •  Health inequalities in areas such as dementia, cancer, oral health and osteoporosis
  •  The importance of medicines optimisation and preventative healthcare
  •  The need for better data to inform policy, planning and service delivery

Committee members engaged extensively with the evidence, discussing future planning for ageing carers, housing, health service accessibility, annual health assessments, cancer screening, integrated models of care and how research can better inform national policy.

Dr Martin McMahon, Associate Professor and Head of Intellectual Disability Nursing, said in his opening statement:

"...This is a timely moment, as Ireland holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, to place the ageing, health and inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities firmly within national and European policy priorities.

First, we need disability-appropriate prevention, screening and early intervention across the life course. Second, mainstream health services must become genuinely accessible. Third, family carers need planned, reliable and funded in-home supports, including respite and future care planning, before crisis occurs. Fourth, community living must be backed by inclusive services that promote and maintain health, housing, transport, staffing, digital inclusion, education, employment and social participation."

Members Present: Maurice Quinlivan (Chair), Micheál Carrigy, Martin Daly, Aisling Dempsey, Keira Keogh, Ruairí Ó Murchú, Liam Quaide, Maria Byrne, Tom Clonan, Laura Harmon and Margaret Murphy O'Mahony.