Municipalities face growing pressure to fund elderly care

Kringvarp Føroya reports that elderly care in the Faroe Islands is facing inadequate conditions and rising costs as the population grows older.

The broadcaster’s Breddin programme is examining how elderly care should be organised and funded in the future. The issue is expected to become more difficult as the number of older people increases.

Responsibility for elderly care was transferred to the municipalities in 2015. Their revenues have increased every year since then, but that growth is expected to stop in 2027. Some municipalities could then struggle to carry the financial burden, according to the report.

Guests on the programme include Grímur Sundstein and Liljan Weihe, members of the parliament’s welfare committee, Finance Minister Aksel V. Johannesen and former Finance Minister Ruth Vang.