26-05-2025
‘Planning for our ageing society is paramount. The demographic shift is a huge challenge'
'When you take on a challenge it's wise to get help from wherever you can,' she adds.
There is no wetsuit today though, but a tidal surge is well underway — there are more older people in society than ever and the number is rising year on year.
This, for Siobhan, is the day job. The voice for challenge and change. And much like the tests she sets herself during the down times, she's taking on a to-do list certain to test her.
The 62-year-old — originally a Derry girl — is six weeks into her tenure as Northern Ireland's new Commissioner for Older People.
While she leaves behind an impressive 15-year career with Age NI, it was the chance of having a greater influence and a louder voice that prompted Siobhan to take up the responsibility of holding Stormont to account on behalf of our rapidly growing older generation.
And her CV is impressive. European vice-president of the International Federation on Ageing, a senior Atlantic fellow for equity in brain health and a member of Age UK's Services for Older People's Consortium.
She was also part of the UKRI Healthy Ageing Advisory Committee (2022-24). A graduate of Ulster University, she holds multiple post-graduate qualifications in business, marketing, and brain health.
But there has also been life experience.
'My background is in business and marketing but away from that I was born to older parents,' she said. 'My father was in his 50s when I came along, the youngest of 11.
'He developed dementia in his late 70s so I was always around it from an early stage of my life. My mother, well she was forever young. She kept active and seemed to get younger with age. I carried all that with me and when the marketing job with Age NI came up my husband Niall was the one who told me it was a perfect opportunity.
'I was very lucky to get it. Age NI was a great opportunity doing something I loved, using my marketing career to promote services for the elderly.
'But I have had my eye on the Commissioner's job for a while,' she admitted.
A mum of two, son Rory is not long home from the US and daughter Cara is living in England, with both in their mid-20s. They still keep Siobhan on her toes, as do her two collie dogs.
'They need walked every morning before work — the dogs, not the children!' she smiles.
'It's been quite a comfortable introduction for me,' she admitted of her new role, taking to it like a seasoned sea swimmer to the deep blue ocean.
'Given my background with Age NI, I have been all too aware of the issues facing older people, so none of the issue surprise me. But that doesn't mean they don't have to be addressed. I'm learning a lot more about the governance of being a statutory arms length body, working more closely with government departments.
'The role is first and foremost to promote and safeguard the rights of older people. That's holding government to account for policies and practices, really making sure the needs of older people are central to the thinking and that there is an understanding of what aging these days is like.
'A big part of the role in these early stages is identifying where we can actually make changes for the better. 'We know we're in a society of austerity and cuts. Identifying where we can actually move the needle is going to be key, but there is a great opportunity to tackle ageism in our society and change the narrative.
'We do still have stereotypical views of what an older person is,' she said. 'Just because someone is over 60 doesn't mean they should be left to one side. They are part of today and today still needs them to be active in the workplace, contributing to society. We are not dealing with a homogeneous group.'
No older person is, as she says, the same. But with age comes an increased reliance on a health service. That pressure is only going to increase in future.
'We have some very strong health inequalities. Life expectancy in areas of high deprivation is much lower'
'Planning for an ageing society is paramount,' said Siobhan.
'The demographic shift is one of the biggest challenges society is facing. We now have more people over 65 than under 19. That's going to increase. At the minute one in six people here is over 65. By 2040 that's likely to be one in four. That has consequences on the demands for services and that's something we need to be planning for now and not pushing down the road.
'We know there will be limits on budgets, but that doesn't mean there has to be a limit on thinking. We can, and the Health Minister has made it a priority, try to stabilise the health service, but we can plan for the future at the same time. All that costs is some thought. We need to make sure we are in a position to provide what's needed when that need arrives... and it will.
'Long term planning is central to this. There is an acceptance at Stormont we need to plan to an ageing society. Keeping them to that is something I will be working on, though it was disappointing to see very little mention of older people in Stormont's programme for government. That's something I will be working hard on to change.'
It's not the only thing Siobhan wants to see changed.
'We do, unfortunately, have some very strong health inequalities. Life expectancy in areas of high deprivation is much lower than it would be somewhere else,' she said.
'And one of the biggest concerns for older people is access to services.
That means waiting lists for hospital treatment, the ability to be able to get an appointment to see a GP and even down to the simple filling in of forms, much of which has now moved online and left too many people behind — with a concentration on a medium some of that generation struggle to understand or simply can't.
'We need to start speaking to people in language they understand,' she continued. 'Changes in technology are wonderful for those who can adapt. There are too many who are being left adrift.
'Northern Ireland is the only place in the UK where there is no legislation on goods, facilities and services. We need to make sure there is no room for discriminating because of age.'
A meeting with MLA Claire Sugden is next on Siobhan's agenda for the day to discuss her private members' bill on that very issue. Seeking that help where she can and giving help where it's needed.
'But we also have to focus on the positive side of things by celebrating that positive contribution older people make to all our lives.' she added. '45% are volunteering, 37% are caring for others in some form and 16% still working in some way.
'People need to be supported to live healthier lives. One of the things I'm proud of from my time with Age NI was working with Lady Mary Peters on her Move With Mary programme.
'Yes, we are living longer, but we're not necessarily living better. We have to try to stay motivated to be as healthy, active and connected as we can be, but for some people that is very difficult. That's where we need to be providing more support.
'We need a transformation. We need to think differently.
'I love the challenge,' she added. 'It's about seeing what we can achieve and getting the right commitment to achieve it.'
The most immediate task for Siobhan, though, is away from the office. Helping her son drive to Kerry.
'I'm not letting him go on his own,' she said. 'It's all about collaboration. It makes things so much easier when you work together to get to where you want to be.'
