Ms Allison Metcalfe:

Okay. The first question that was asked related to why carers are leaving the sector.

Carers are staying in Ireland, from what we see from our members. They are leaving the sector and may be moving on within the HSE because they see it as a better role which is better paid. They are leaving to go where they can get full-time contracts with better prospects which allow them to pay their rents. A lot of them are leaving because as the economy is growing a lot more jobs are becoming available. They are seeing jobs advertised which pay €14 or €15 an hour. There are better conditions. There are many reasons they are leaving. The biggest things is if-and-when contracts. People cannot plan their lives if they are working if and when they are wanted for work. The other thing is that carers are expected to use their own transport to drive from one client to the next. They get no expenses for it. Some carers say their entire wages go on their car. They have nothing left to live on after they have paid for their cars.

One thing that has come to light recently with many carers is they are applying for a lot of jobs. They are preparing themselves. They are going for the interview. They have to pay for their Garda vetting when they go for interview. It usually costs around €20. Then they go for induction training and they have to pay for that also. That will be taken out of their wages when they start working. A lot of them are not even getting a job after all of that. Why are employers putting carers through all of that? What is the reason for it?

One of the other big things is communication. There is very bad communication between the carer and the employer. That comes up with us time and again. It is one of the biggest things.