Is Ireland sliding into a gerontocracy where the older generation dominates?

Gap between the haves and have-nots in Irish society is beginning to be defined generationally as our ageing politicians look after older voters, writes Theo McDonald
Is Ireland sliding into a gerontocracy where the older generation dominates?

The spectre of career politician and septuagenarian Michael Lowry (pictured) giving Paul Murphy the two fingers in the Dáil chamber as the new government was formed could not have shown more clearly whose interests they will represent.

A gerontocracy is a system where the elderly hold sway, governing by and for their own interests. The concept traces back to the classical period, with Plato describing a society where “the elder man rules, and the younger submits.” 

In Sparta, the Gerousia, a council of elders including two kings and nearly 30 elite full-citizen men of the city state of Sparta over 60, wielded significant judicial and legislative power, embodying this structure. The term “senate” derives from the Latin senex, meaning old man.

From antiquity to today, gerontocracy persists in places such as China, where CCP leaders seldom retire before their late 80s, perhaps adhering to that Confucian adage that “when you meet someone older, you must respect and submit to that person’s wisdom and power because he must have come across problems you encounter”. 

Perhaps the most vivid example of modern gerontocracy is in the world’s superpower the United States where an octogenarian and septuagenarian candidate dominated the field during the last presidential election in a country where the average age is 38. 

Polling showed that many voters in the US were uneasy with 81-year-old Donald Trump and 78-year-old Joe Biden, before being replaced by his 60-year-old vice president Kamala Harris, as the two early nominees with age a major factor in their discontent. 

Beyond the executive branch, the second branch of government - the legislative - is dominated by elders. The current Senate is the second oldest, with an average age of 63, and the House of Representatives is the third oldest, averaging 57 years of age, since the foundation of the US Congress in 1789. 

It was president Ronald Reagan who, at the ripe old age of 78, in 1984 said he would not make age an issue during his presidential campaign against Walter Mondale. But while candidates may not make age an explicit issue during the campaign it certainly dominates their time in office. 

Currently, about a third of the federal budget is dedicated to Social Security and Medicare payments which benefits those over 60, who make up less than 20% of the US population. These costs are mainly borne by young workers and employers even as older generations are financially better off than younger cohorts. 

Talk of cuts to such programmes are usually met with voter rage as candidates and office holders alike walk a tightrope in accommodating older voters and promising to balance budgets.

Aside from international examples, Ireland offers a closer look at gerontocratic rule.

A recent study carried out by the Electoral Commission reveals the older generation’s outsized influence on Irish elections. Titled the National Election & Democracy Study General Election 2024, the findings, carried out by Red C, indicates that 90% of those aged 65+ voted in last year’s general election.  But while the older generation enthusiastically headed to polling stations in their droves, young people, for the most part, stayed at home - their parents’ home, that is.  

Housing between the generations

Housing, the top electoral issue, underscores this divide. While voters express frustration with the crisis, 89% of those who turned out to vote are homeowners, with two-thirds reporting stable or improved economic conditions. Since the Troika’s exit in 2013, house prices have doubled, boosting wealth for homeowners — mostly older generations. 

Meanwhile, wages, especially for younger people, have lagged, rising just 27% since the crash from 2013-2022. The ESRI highlights Ireland’s stark generational homeownership gap: nearly 80% of those over 40 own homes, compared to just a third of those under 40. 

In 1993, 70% of 25-34-year-olds were homeowners; by 2016, 60% of this group were renters, and the 2022 census showed over two-thirds of 18-34-year-olds still living with their parents - way above the EU average.  With 30% of Ireland’s population aged 18-39, the over-40 cohort, around 10% larger, dominates both homeownership and voter turnout.  

Despite desperate attempts by the Millennial ‘TikTok Teesh’ Simon Harris to appeal to the youth, the 34th Dáil’s power rests on older homeowners’ support.  This influence is reflected in government policy. 

Pensions

In 2020, nearly every party opposed raising the state pension age from 66, with Sinn Féin, popular among under-65s, pledging to lower it to 65. A post-election Commission on Pensions recommended gradually raising the age to 67 by 2031. With the average life expectancy standing at 87, it only makes sense that the pension age rise concurrently.  

Yet the government, seemingly wary of older voters, rejected the recommendation, offering higher pensions for those retiring at 70 and proposing PRSI hikes — largely borne by younger workers. With birth rates declining and the worker-to-pensioner ratio projected to drop to 2:1 by 2050, PRSI costs will likely climb, further impacting working age people.  

Pensions, like housing, favour the old. Only 30% of 20-24-year-olds have some sort of pension plan, compared to over 70% of 45-54-year-olds, often tied to property wealth. Maybe the government’s refusal to raise the pension age is informed by the last time geriatric rage was elicited. 

Following the crash, and the imposition of brutal austerity, the Fianna Fáil-Green-PD government did away with the automatic entitlement for over 70s to free healthcare and a medical card.  This sparked major protests with opposition leaders, including Fine Gael’s Enda Kenny and Labour’s Eamon Gilmore, addressing some demonstrators.  

Fearing the electoral repercussions, the coalition government backtracked on their plans but ploughed ahead with gruelling cuts for mainly younger, working-age people. 

Shortly after the crash, Ireland registered one of the highest unemployment rates among those aged 15-24 at over 40%. Many young people emigrated — nearly 10% during the recession — rather than protest.

The housing trap

Housing remains the starkest indicator of youth disenfranchisement. Average rents now exceed €2,000 monthly, and post-crash rules requiring 10-20% deposits trap young people in a cycle of paying more in rent than a mortgage would cost. 

House prices are seven times the average income, compared to 1.5 times in the 1980s.  A new report from the Central Bank of Ireland found that the wealthiest 10% of households held just below half of the total net wealth in 2024 mainly due to high house prices. 

According to the bank, Irish households have financial assets worth €570bn. For them, rising house prices are a positive development with politicians equally richly rewarded at the ballot box.

When Mary Lou McDonald proposed lowering house prices to €300,000, her party was accused of recklessness. Fine Gael Senator John Cummins warned: “We’d see our construction sector and economy crash.” 

Similar sentiments were echoed by then Taoiseach Leo Varadkar when he stated that "one person’s rent is another person’s income" when voicing his opposition to rent caps.  Such Freudian slips reveal how politicians view housing: as an asset whose rising price must be maintained in order to satisfy the equity of a homeowners’ property and yields for a landlord.  

Meanwhile, those desperate to get onto the property ladder and stuck paying gargantuan rents are left scraping by and politically unrepresented. 

Independent TD Barry Heneghan, at just 27 years of age, is one of the youngest candidates to sit in the current Dáil. Photo: Sam Boal/Collins Photos
Independent TD Barry Heneghan, at just 27 years of age, is one of the youngest candidates to sit in the current Dáil. Photo: Sam Boal/Collins Photos

While some younger candidates did manage to get elected during the last general election, including Barry Heneghan at age 27, the spectre of career politician and septuagenarian Michael Lowry giving Paul Murphy the two fingers in the Dáil chamber as the new government was formed could not have shown more clearly whose interests they will represent.

Minister of state for international development and the diaspora, Neale Richmond, recently mentioned that Ireland’s greatest export was its people. With 70% of young people in Ireland contemplating emigration, you can expect bumper figures for exports in the future if this situation continues.  

The fissures between old and young are widening with housing causing the rupture and youth despair filling the crevice.  Going back to first principles and re-examining who housing policy should represent and what the purpose of a home is would go a long way in stabilising that societal chasm. 

More in this section

x
Cookie Policy Privacy Policy Brand Safety FAQ Help Contact Us Terms and Conditions

© Examiner Echo Group Limited