Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is estimated that family carers in Ireland number in excess of 500,000. Our carers do incredible work. They look after family members who are ill, have dementia or have a disability. It is estimated that carers save the State €20 billion every year. However, our family carers feel forgotten about, ignored, taken for granted and, in many cases, worthless.

The past year has had an unprecedented negative effect on carers. This time last year, when schools and day services for elderly people and those with disabilities closed, the full burden of care was left with family carers. Due to the restrictions and the limitations placed on family interaction, family carers were left in the position that they could not even rely on other family members to help out.

After a tremendously difficult year, when the invaluable work carers do could be recognised by their inclusion in the prioritisation groups for vaccination, they are left out again. Every year, when the winter flu jab is administered to elderly and medically vulnerable people, family carers are offered the vaccine at the same time. Why could that not be done in the case of the Covid vaccine? It is imperative that it be offered to all family carers. If carers contract Covid, they will not be in a position to provide care. Who then will look after the people who need care?

Respite for carers is vital but its provision varies greatly from place to place throughout the country. In many cases, it is very limited, if available at all. Respite needs to be tailored to meet the needs of the family as one size does not fit all. This could vary from weekend to evening care and include in-house assistance. Many carers tell me that their respite is booked only for it to be cancelled at short notice if an emergency case arises. This should not be allowed to happen. Sufficient spaces must be made available to cater for emergencies and those who are booked into respite.

The application process for the carer's allowance takes far too long, with carers sometimes left waiting for months for a decision on the allocation of the payment. That needs to be addressed. Carers should not have to go searching for, or inquiring about, what supports are available to them and their family. They should be provided with that information as soon as they begin working as a carer. I have met carers who did not know, for example, that they could claim the domiciliary care allowance. One woman did not know about it until her son was in his 20s. Parents of children with autism should not be denied the right to the domiciliary care allowance. Every case must be adjudicated independently. It is imperative that training is provided to all carers in order that they know what to expect from certain conditions and disabilities and are best placed to provide the support needed.

Day services for people with a disability, who are often older people, must be resumed at full capacity as soon as possible. Transport to the services must be provided free to all with a travel pass who usually use public transport, including Local Link services.

Income supports for carers are totally inadequate. The carer's allowance is a means-tested payment and the threshold on which the test is based has not been changed in 12 years, despite wages and the cost of living having risen substantially in that time. The threshold must be raised immediately. The carer's allowance payment is not sufficient and many of those depending on it are at constant risk of poverty. Many carers have pointed out to me that they are working for approximately €1 an hour, taking into account that they work 24 hours, seven days a week in some cases. I am calling today for an increase in the carer's allowance and the means test threshold. Carer's allowance and carer's benefit should be extended to the self-employed. In addition, there should be an increase in the respite support grant, with an option for it to be received as two separate payments.

A discretionary fund should be introduced to help carers cover the costs linked to Covid, such as the extra cost of electricity and heat due to the family being confined to the house for most of the year. What has become of the support of €75 per year to assist persons with medical incontinence, which was announced by the Government in 2017? The GP card should be extended to all carers in receipt of the carer's support grant. Emergency talk therapy funds should be provided to ensure carers have access to an accredited counsellor on referral from a GP.

Finally, the National Carers' Strategy was introduced in 2012 on a cost-neutral basis, which has meant that no funding was allocated to its implementation then or since. The excuse given at the time was that we were coming out of a recession. Nine years on, the strategy is still not implemented. The Government has made a commitment in the programme for Government to do so and it must be held to account on that promise. Update and implementation of the strategy is imperative.

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