THE RESTORATION OF the Respite Care Grant, a guarantee on the issue of water charges and an exemption from the Local Property Tax are amongst the priorities being highlighted by carers as they make their submission to Government today ahead of this October’s Budget.
The respite grant — which is used by carers to buy home care or pay for residential respite care to give them a break from their caring role — was controversially cut in Budget 2013. It’s now paid at the reduced rate of €1,375.
The Carers’ Association are calling it to be restored to the full value of €1,700 as part of a range of moves being outlined today.
They say the cut was “deeply unfair and disproportionate” and that steps should be taken towards raising the payment “as Ireland’s economy begins the slow journey towards recovery and cuts in income tax begin to enter the fiscal discourse”.
Taxes & charges
Water charges and the Local Property Tax are also on the agenda.
They say a guarantee is needed from the Government before the first water bills are issued at the start of next year.
While Environment Minister Phil Hogan has said that full-time carers and others will get €100 per year towards their annual bill, and that people will an illness requiring water usage will have their bill scrapped, the Association says not enough detail has been given in the area.
According to their submission:
In the absence of any clarification from the Commission on Energy Regulation as to the cost per litre of water we cannot accept that such an allowance [the €100] will be adequate to meet the essential water needs of households with a medical condition and we urge Government to consider a more effective approach to avoiding increased hospital admissions motivated by economic rather than clinical aspects of healthcare.
On the issue of the Local Property Tax, the Carers say that despite their enormous contribution, the current scheme makes no allowances for private homes where high-level care is being provided — in spite of exemptions for nursing homes, hospitals and charity-owned care centres…
Both numerically and in terms of the hours and intensity of their work, Family Carers make by far the most important contribution to the support of people with disabilities, those with mental illness, the frail, sick, and the elderly living in the community. Their enormous contribution must be incentivised rather than penalised.
The care provided by family and friends to the ill, frail and people with disabilities is worth €4 billion to the economy each year, the Carers’ Association says.
They say this amounts to:
Amongst the Association’s other key demands, it says the Government should:
“In recent years the combination of increased household charges, welfare cuts and the rationing of essential services have put carers under immense pressure and placed Government policy and practice completely at odds,” the submission says.
“The reorientation of healthcare away from institutional-based settings in favour of care at home, while welcome, is not possible without the recalibration of the basic supports necessary to sustain people with care needs at home and in the community.
Family Carers have played their part in facilitating this shift and we are now calling on Government to do the same.
“As Ireland’s economy begins the slow journey towards recovery, we call on Government to use Budget 2015 as an opportunity to introduce measures that will recognise the home as a centre of care and signal their commitment to recognising and respecting carers and responding to their needs in very practical terms.”
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