ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses mental illness and infirmity among the population over age 65 in the Republic and will outline the legal and organisational context within which services for this group are developed and delivered in the statutory, voluntary and private sectors. It describes the developments in mental health services for older people. A major thrust of mental health policy has been to generally discourage the admission of patients to psychiatric hospital and to encourage out-patient treatment at local level wherever possible. The chapter analyses the role that has been defined for social work in relation to older people in the Republic generally and to those with mental health problems using references to relevant policy documents. It analyses reasons for the lack of development of social work services for older people, including the mentally ill and infirm, and explores issues regarding the future of social work with older people in the Republic.
