“Stop praising carers with words while punishing them with cuts” says Offaly Carers
Easier to get €700 per week for nursing home care, than €100 to help family carers
The Carers Association yesterday launched its Pre Budget Submission 2013 calling on government to put its own policy of caring for people in their own homes into practice. The National Carers Strategy, published earlier this year, promised to recognise, empower and support family carers. Yet, Ireland’s 187,000 family carers are now facing cuts to home help hours, home care packages and vital support services.
“We are calling on Government to stop praising carers with words, while punishing them with cuts. It’s time to turn rhetoric into reality” said Catherine Cox, spokesperson of The Carers Association.
“Carers across the country are very fearful of what this budget will bring with further threats of cuts to household benefits packages, free travel for carers and services for young adults with disabilities on reaching 18. All of these, against a backdrop of suspension of housing adaptation grants and increases in the costs of care in the home, are pushing many carers over the edge” says Ms. Cox.
The Carers Association has also called for a statutory entitlement for home care services similar to that of long term residential care which would remove the existing discretionary nature of home care supports. At the moment it is easier to get €700 for nursing home care per week than it is for a carer to get €100 towards care in the home, despite stated government policy of caring for people in their own homes for as long as possible.
Having conducted its own study on the Housing Adaptation Grant, The Carers Association has found that recent cutbacks have resulted in a ‘postcode’ lottery with the scheme suspended indefinitely in 22 of the 34 Local Authorities and waiting times of between one to four years.
The Carers Association’s Pre Budget Submission 2013 launch heard from two family carers who are currently experiencing major problems because they cannot access funding to adapt their houses to meet their significant caring needs. One of these carers is just 14 years old and is Young carer of the Year 2012, Sam Norris.
The Carers Association’s Pre Budget Submission 2013, titled ‘Building a Brighter Future for Ireland’s Carers’, presents a range of ‘cost-neutral’ proposals to support family carers and is calling for –
– Government to honour its commitment of no cuts to carers payments including the carers allowance, half rate carers allowance and the respite care grant
– Recognition of the home as a centre of care and protection of the Household Benefits Package
– Redeploy staff to the Carers Allowance section to ensure backlogs are eliminated. The target processing time is 12 weeks, which in reality is taking up to two years
– Restore funding for the Housing Adaptation Grants
– The commission of a strategic review on maximising the contribution of family carers to the health service
Census 2011 found almost 2,000 carers under the age of 10 and a 16 per cent increase in the overall number of family carers from 161,000 to 187,112.
Ireland’s family carers now contribute EUR11 million per day, providing 900,000 hours of care daily and saving the state EUR4 billion each year. Census 2011 also found that 21 per cent of family carers provide over 43 hours of care per week.
