This is the first of a series of fact sheets to be published over the coming year on the needs and circumstances of older people in Northern Ireland. By older people we mean persons aged 50 years or over. The impetus for this project derives from a number of concerns raised by members of voluntary organisations and others representing older people.

Firstly, there has been concern about lack of information on older people in Northern Ireland. The problem here is not that the data does not exist but that it is scattered across a number of sets of data. Our primary intention, building on other work (NISRA, 2003), is therefore to bring the material together, subject it to further analysis and present it in an accessible manner to assist those seeking to promote change to the benefit of older people.