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It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the Presidential Palace for the European Policy Conference organised by the Third Age Observatory on Active, Healthy and Dignified Ageing.
I would like to particularly welcome the presence here today of the President of the AGE Platform Europe and the MEPs who are working on this issue. The presence of all of you here today and the organisation of the Conference is particularly important and reinforces our efforts as a State to substantially support European and international initiatives such as the European Care Strategy, the Council Recommendation on access to affordable and high quality long-term care, and the United Nations Decade for Healthy Ageing.
At the same time, today's conference is a prime opportunity to reflect on, discuss and promote issues relating both to the needs and challenges brought about by an ageing population, but also - and most importantly - to highlight the potential contribution and offer of older people across the whole spectrum of social life. In addition to the challenges, there are also many opportunities and possibilities for older people to contribute to the whole spectrum of social life, and we must make the most of them. We look forward with particular interest to discussions on important and very topical issues concerning the implementation of policies, actions and good practices that promote active and quality ageing, the rights of our older people to age with dignity, health and safety issues, and the contribution of older people to the local economy in general.
As a State we have made significant steps in recent years, but this is not an area - and we must be completely honest - that we can be proud of. There is a lot to be done and we need to adopt and build on the practices of EU member states that deal with the same issues - what is done for example in the Netherlands, a model country in how it behaves and how it approaches old age.
And I would like to refer to a personal experience that for me was one of the most unpleasant. Immediately after taking office as President of the Republic, I had visited, together with the Minister of Health, the Limassol hospital and I insisted on visiting the pathology ward - it was not part of the programme that had been prepared. I found that this ward was in fact a nursing home, because there were no other options. Children and relatives approach the hospital as the easy, the only solution, which also has a very negative impact on the GHS. So, if we really want to tackle these problems, we need a holistic approach and certainly the cooperation of everyone.
My presence here today, among many other things, wants to send a clear message of the importance I attach, both personally and as a government, to issues concerning the third age. Moreover, the organisation of the Conference here at the Presidential Palace demonstrates the prominent place we give to Third Age issues, horizontally, in all Government policies.
We are well aware of the general implications of the steady increase in life expectancy in the EU. And we should rejoice in this increase. It is a sign of a country's progress. But the impact is also directly linked to another problem we face as a country - and that is where a strategy is needed. The birth rate is very low. We are one of the last countries today in the EU. We are in the 1% when we need a rate of just over 2% to replenish the population every 25 years. So, you understand the challenges for a small country, a country under occupation, a country that has to deal with a very serious challenge such as immigration.
At the same time, we also see the possibilities brought by the experience of individuals, who now have more possibilities, prospects, opportunities for employment and participation in the whole of social and economic life.
In cooperation with the other Member States, we are therefore promoting the adoption of policies based on our own current knowledge and, by extension, which meet the needs of modern society. A society that must be a society of solidarity, fairness and equity through deeds, not words, which ensures the full and effective realisation of the potential of all citizens without exception.
Support for older people is included in our Governance Programme and is an important pillar of our social policy, as part of our political philosophy of promoting a purely people-centred model of governance which includes, among other things, ensuring quality of life and promoting social inclusion. The development of the National Strategy and the National Action Plan for Older People will also involve all organised groups of older people, with the contribution, of course, of the Agency for Older People. Private organisations are much further ahead and we have an obligation to support their efforts. I take this opportunity today to invite you all to participate actively in shaping the Strategy and, in particular, the actions through which it will be implemented. The most important thing is to move from words to action.
Our aim, among others, is to develop sustainable practices for social inclusion, healthy ageing, inclusion, socialisation, the provision of quality support and care services and in general, through a holistic approach, to address the challenges faced by older people, but also the opportunities that exist - because there is also this dimension.
In the meantime, and until the preparation of a Strategy, we have promoted or are promoting specific measures to support the elderly.
More specifically, one of the first actions of the Ministry of Labour was to set as an objective the timely payment of all benefits and allowances paid by the relevant Social Security Services. Already, we have managed to ensure that all those who retire at the age of 65 receive their first pension payment within just 30 days, compared to many months previously. By the end of 2023, the same will apply to all new pensioners.
In addition, we plan to implement two specific actions in the near future, as part of the multifaceted support we as a society owe to our elderly citizens. We are developing a specialised Long-Term Care Subsidy Scheme aimed at subsidising part of the food costs of nursing homes for those of our fellow citizens who need to receive such services in quality care facilities, but unfortunately cannot afford the high costs. And along with this comes the decision to strengthen inspections of all nursing homes because - to tell the truth - we have all seen pictures that do not make us feel proud at all.
This issue is a particularly important priority for the Government, taking into account the general increase in the cost of living and thus in the cost of providing such services, which leads many people to end up in our hospitals. Our goal, in addition to providing substantial support to those of our fellow citizens who need these services, is to upgrade the quality of the services provided, which will be ensured through the Plan I have mentioned, so that every citizen has a network of quality and accessible services that meet their actual current needs. Preliminary studies have already been carried out by the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare and will be followed by information for those directly concerned and then the completion of the process that will lead to the communication of the plan.
Recognising the importance of the mobility of elderly people in the context of active ageing, the second action concerns the provision of a special public transport service for elderly people. This project is expected to be piloted by the Department of Transport and Works and will then be evaluated for universal implementation.
In particular, however, I want to focus on one of the most important reforms we are working to implement during our administration, the reform of the pension system. Following the 1964 reform, which made it "universal" and the 1980 reform, which evolved it into "proportional", our reform will have a "supportive" character for low-income pensioners, for the second pillar and for the Fund's investment policy. The year 2024 will be a year of preparation, under the guidance of the Minister of Labour, for the pension reform, with a concrete roadmap to effectively manage the open issues, complete the relevant studies and develop a meaningful dialogue with the social partners, all political forces - which I am sure have the same sensitivities for the issues of the elderly - and of course civil society. As a Government we aim - and it is a personal bet - to ensure social cohesion through maintaining a healthy and active elderly population.
(PM/EAth/ASP)
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