Debate contribution: Programme for Government: Older People
Debate contribution by Ms Aisling Reilly on .
- MLA
- Ms Aisling Reilly
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 21 September 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Programme for Government: Older People
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5742141
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Through the current Programme for Government (PFG), we are committed to improving outcomes for everyone in our society, and that includes older people. The progress is measured in two ways. First, we monitor the delivery of the Programme for Government commitments, including those that are particularly relevant to older people. The publication of the PFG annual reports has shown the tangible progress that we are making on a range of commitments, including reducing health waiting times, tackling fuel poverty and providing housing-related support to enable people to live independently in their communities. Secondly, the well-being framework, which was published alongside the PFG, provides a broader assessment of the outcomes across society over time.
Many of the framework's indicators can be analysed by age, thus helping us understand the experiences of older people, identify areas where inequalities exist and assess whether outcomes are improving over time. We are committed to supporting people at every stage of their life, and we continue to engage with key stakeholders, including the Commissioner for Older People, to understand the key challenges that remain.
We recognise the considerable work that the Member undertook to develop and introduce the Age Discrimination (Goods, Facilities and Services) Bill and the importance of the issues that the Bill seeks to address. We also recognise that the Member is continually a champion for older people. I congratulate her on that work and look forward to the Bill's Second Stage. For our part, we will continue not only to track the delivery of our Programme for Government commitments but to assess whether long-term well-being outcomes are improving for people across our society, including older people.
273 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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