In 20 years' time some 40 per cent of the population will be over 50 years of age - compared to 25 per cent at present - and different levels of demand will be brought to bear on health, welfare and community facilities. Some members of the newly-greying population will be wealthy, independent and active, having benefited from the fruits of the Celtic Tiger, but a majority of less-fortunate citizens will require increasing levels of State support and intervention. Now is the time to start planning for such radical demographic change.
The findings of the specially commissioned Irish Times/TNSmrbi opinion poll on the 50+ generation, published over recent days, has provided an important snapshot of society at the tipping point. It showed that while nearly half of those surveyed would like to retire before the age of 65, the great majority believe this will not be possible for financial reasons. Two-thirds of those questioned are, or will be, totally reliant on a State pension in their retirement. And most of them expect to have to work until they are 70 years of age.
It is a finding such as this - which points to an old age of continuing financial worry for a majority of citizens - that makes it incumbent on the Government to take early action on the pensions front. The longer it delays, the greater the problem will become and the more intense will be the resulting hardship for older people. Three-quarters of the over-50s are already worried, in varying degrees, about the cost of living. It is an issue that commands almost as much of their concern as crime and personal security.
In light of that finding, the Taoiseach's announcement that he will increase free fuel and electricity benefits for pensioners, to offset rising energy costs, is politically astute. Before the last election, free medical cards were given to the over-70s. Their free travel entitlements are now being extended. As the group most likely to vote in an election, the over-50s are potential government-changers.
The real value of the poll, however, was the manner in which it served to explode many of the myths surrounding a growing segment of Irish society. The overwhelming majority of the 50+ generation are happy. They have fairly liberal social values on divorce and abortion. Although 90 per cent of them practise their religion, most are à la carte Catholics. Some 7 per cent of them own holiday homes at home or abroad. They are frequent travellers. They are great newspaper readers. They enjoy a better state of personal health than any other generation of their peers. They are happy with the way that the economy is developing but unhappy, by and large, with the texture of Irish society.
These are interesting guidelines for the policy-makers. The most surprising finding of all, however, is that the children of the 1950s and the 1960s are more worried about the way that the US is conducting the war on terror than they are about the state of the Irish health service.