Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 22 November 2018

Select Committee on Social Protection

Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Committee Stage

10:00 am

Photo of Bríd SmithBríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I support the amendment. It would be a useful report for us to have in general. I do not have the figures in front of me but carers provide significant service to the State by providing full-time care at home. If we treated them better and took them more seriously, we would get a lot more out of the population in terms of minding those who need to be minded. It is far better to be minded at home than to be minded in a healthcare facility or hospital. I cared for my mother for a couple of years and was able to work 15 hours per week. I was doing some part-time work for my union at the time in the form of tutoring. It all worked well for me. My mother has since died but, following the care I provided, my sister cared for her for 15 years. My sister is now in her early sixties and has nowhere to go in the labour market. She has been discarded, which is depressing for her. A report could tell us a great deal about the role of women in society as well. It could have a more holistic vision of what we want to do for women and family carers. I worry that people like my sister could suffer ill-health because of the sense that having sacrificed so much of their lives doing something that is valuable to society, they are now useless and nobody cares about them. I am sure the Minister recognises the value of the work they, as do all of us, but the consequences of not having the facts, figures and an insight into it are that we will miss out on something.

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