Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Thousands of family carers are propping up Ireland's fragile health system, yet recent policy developments highlight the expanding role they will play in the future with fewer patients in our hospitals, shorter hospital stays and an increasing focus on community care. The contribution of family carers to the economy has been estimated to be worth in excess of €4 billion each year, yet the delivery of this highly valuable service to our older and vulnerable adults and children with special needs does not come without significant personal cost to carers. Research has consistently identified that carers are an at-risk group for negative well-being as they have higher than average rates of depression, chronic illness, injury and poverty due to the physical, emotional and financial demands of caring.

In census 2011, the statistics showed that in respect of health, disability and carers, 595,335 people, representing 13% of the total population, had one or more disabilities and 106,270 disabled people, representing 18% of all disabled persons, lived alone at the time of the census, which was April 2011. The census also showed that 187,112 persons, or 4.1% of the total population, provided unpaid assistance to others in 2011. These are very significant statistics as these people providing intermittent, casual care are not receiving remuneration from the State. Therefore, substantial savings are accruing to the State through the often unrecognised and invisible form of support. What these people provide and contribute is unrecognised.

Carers who are in receipt of social welfare protection payments and on call 24-7 have suffered an average cut in income support of 5% in the budget, which is more than twice the average cut in income support for other recipients of social protection payments. I believe this is working out at approximately 1.8%. The Government claims it has protected core payments for family carers in the budget, but the respite care grant is a core payment for family carers that allows them to buy home and residential respite care occasionally as well as meet everyday additional costs of caring in the home. As Deputy Healy remarked, an adjustment of the required €26 million to rescind the cut and return to the pre-budget situation works out at 0.14% of a budget of approximately €20 billion in total, so it is a minute amount. It is within the capacity of the Government to readjust the budget, right the wrong and enable and assist these families to give a quality of life to their loved ones and to get a reasonable break and rest time. Many of these carers are under extreme pressure and are vulnerable to negative elements in respect of their health and well-being. It is astounding that many of the carers whose applications are being refused for the carer's allowance may have to wait 12 months for their appeals to be heard, which is ridiculous. A total of 50% of refusals are overturned and carers eventually receive it after waiting 12 months.

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