An Cathaoirleach Councillor Carrie Smyth signed the Dublin Declaration of Age Friendly Cities and Counties on behalf of the members of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council in June 2013.
An Age Friendly Alliance of senior executives from the community, voluntary and public sector, and older people was established in December 2014.
Twenty round table consultation sessions with older people were hosted in community centres around the County during the spring of 2015.
dlr Age Friendly Strategy 2016-2020 was developed during Autumn 2015, having regard to the issues identified in the consultation process and approved by Council at its meeting in February 2016. The dlr Age Friendly Strategy was formally launched by An Leas Cathaoirleach Pat Hand in May 2016.
The National Age Friendly Business Recognition Awards and Convention of Older Persons Councils were also hosted in 2016.
Living Well With Dementia Project was piloted successfully and in 2017 was mainstreamed into national programme.
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, The HSE (Health Service Executive) and ALONE worked together to develop a Support Coordination Service for older people in the County with 293 older people benefitting from the service in 2017.
Dublin Bus has developed a new safety advisory leaflet for older passengers on their service. They have also appointed a travel assistant to assist and teach people with an acquired disability on how to access their service.
An Garda Síochána has developed a Cuppa with a Cop to encourage older people to discuss personal safety and security concerns. A Garda Older Persons Association was established to facilitate consultation on wider policing matters and policy of relevance to older people. Garda Síochána also introduced a Mobile Support Service for older people who are confined to home but need to have documents signed.
In June 2017 Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council launched the Petal Project, to address a perceived lack of accessible toilet facilities. This involves the display of a simple, discreet sticker on public buildings alerting older people to the availability of toilet facilities without fuss. It is anticipated that this will be rolled out to the business sector in 2018. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council launched a Directory of Activities and Services for Older People in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County in June 2017. The directory provides information on services, clubs, activities etc relevant to older people.
Other programmes include:
• Touchstone Programme – Civic engagement for Older People
• Eyesight Tests for Older members of the Traveller Community
• Tea Dances – For Older People in residential care
• Age Friendly Community Grants
• Men’s Shed Programme
• Downsizing Housing Scheme
• Dementia Friendly Art Gallery Tours
• Musical Memories Choir (choir for older people with dementia and their carers/families)
• Befriending Services
• Care and Repair Service
• Training session for Older People using new technology