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THIS WEEK IS National Carers Week and over 150 events are organised around the country to celebrate the work they do.
There are 187,000 family carers in Ireland.
Cuts to the respite grant, changes to medical card provisions and other cutbacks are having a significant impact on carers.
A nationwide survey published by the Neurological Alliance of Ireland in association with Care Alliance Ireland shows that 82 per cent of carers reported being impacted by cuts to home care packages over the past three years.
The survey of over 170 family carers also found that 77 per cent were affected by cuts to respite services and 70 per cent by cuts to home help.
Over one fifth of carers who took part in the survey could not access any respite services.
Another finding was that 42 per cent of respondents had given up work to look after the person with a neurological condition while 64 per cent reported a significant fall in family income since the onset of the condition.
Carers Week
The week encourages carers to take a day for themselves and to participate in events such as pamper days, informative gatherings, live entertainment and ‘open days’ at local attractions.
Liam O Sullivan is Executive Director of Care Alliance, he said:
It is clear from this survey that successive cuts to supports for Family Carers are creating a climate of worry, uncertainty and distress.
We know from the findings of previous surveys that other family members remain the most important source of support for Family Carers, taking up the slack as State supports are further reduced.
O’Sullivan added that “This week we should focus on doing something for those that contribute so much to Irish society.
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It is a total false economy to ignore the service carers provide, They are saving the economy millions, providing a service in the case of unpaid carers that would be illegal under most employment law. In fact people who do eventually access care do actually pay their way through the taxes paid to staff who support them this includes social services etc because without disabled children, adults and vulnerable elderly these people would not have a job.
Parents of disabled children will be lifelong carers, a survey I have been part of recently has revealed that parents have an average of 4.5 hours sleep per night. This will lead to illness and to social services at some point having to step in with services. If they loose their paid jobs the whole family will fall into poverty and the state will no doubt have to pick this up.
What these politicians forget conveniently is that at some point they will need care, they will need to be fed, bathed and have other personal care. They had better hope that someone cares for them.
The wise thing to do is to fund targeted, practical, preventative services, not more strategies, policies and useless information leaflets or tilted headed people saying lessons will be learnt when things go wrong.
But of course wise and politician rarely go together.
Well duh. Sorry but anyone who would care to look into the cuts to people saving the government so much money every year by being home carers could see this without a survey. It’s terrible.
Tonielle I completely agree they don’t need a survey to know what they are doing. They know full well what they are doing, they simply don’t care but should be made to. The survey I was referring to was not specifically in relation to cuts but a piece of work looking at the health inequalities faced by parents of disabled children, because they are often not seen as carers but as parents they are of course both.
Ah Sue, I just had a petulant rant. You said everything I might have said and said it well in your first post! Thanks :-). It just floors me sometimes when I read headlines that state the obvious. What’s next … ” cuts to funding and services for the elderly and the disabled led to suffering, government tactic of asking people to check on their elderly neighbors during winter not working as mitigation ” ? Or perhaps ” cuts to funding in education leading to issues of over crowding and lack of adequate and appropriate support for children in classrooms ? ” sometimes I despair. Of course it’s all very complicated but the stories on the ground are not complicated at all. On the the other hand, onwards and upwards and all that…
Tonielle I know how to rant too….believe me ! ha ha ha! It is not actually complicated at all, the system makes it so. In my experience people need good quality support at home or in their community, good quality therapy services, good quality schools for their children with special needs, and the chance to have fun!
But the ‘system’ has become an industry on the backs of vulnerable people. The money is there, its being laundered! instead of being directed to frontline services, unpaid carers and support staff who actually do care. There is always a middle man, layers of bureaucracy and this includes charities that have huge overheads and chief executive wages all responsible for turning vulnerable people into paper people in strategies, policies, procedures and risk assessments. Therefore allowing politicians who could actually do something away with doing nothing!
For me its about time these people did something and were reminded of their own humanity, vulnerability and fragility because it will come to them.
I’m thinking political careers survived.
No reason why.
Who care,s well it,s not the politician,s anyway
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