Political and civic life

Junior Health Minister for ROI Kathleen Lynch has said an additional €30m is needed every year for the Fair Deal nursing home scheme to ensure people are not waiting longer than eight weeks. But she said the Government would not be seeking an increase in the contributions made by patients in the scheme which is costing €950m this year. Read more here.

Read more about issues relating to long-term care and Fair Deal in Ireland here:

Universal benefits for pensioners will be protected if the Conservatives win May's UK general election, Prime Minister David Cameron has said. In a speech he outlined the party's pledge to ensure that older people be treated with dignity and dismissed criticism that pensioners were being unfairly favoured. Read more here.

While the concept of successful aeging has become prevalent in academic and policy discussions surrounding aging in the United States, in Europe the idea of active ageing has been the most prominent response to challenges related to an ageing population. An article in a recent special issue of the Gerontologist on successful ageing outlines the major features of the idea of active ageing and how it compares to the successful ageing perspective.

The Dementia Elevator team at Dublin City University will soon be offering retail training to promote dementia awareness and give customer facing retail staff skills to engage effectively  customers who may have dementia. The training will be solution focused with opportunities for interaction and reflection. It is suitable for all types of retail outlets and pharmacies. More information here.