Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I fully support both this motion and the amendment put forward by me and Deputies Harkin, McNamara, Fitzmaurice and Collins.

Carers are overworked and undervalued and the State is completely over-reliant on the unpaid caring work done by family members around the country. The fear that the Covid-19 pandemic has brought to carers has been palpable in our communities. People caring for vulnerable family members have been terrified that Covid could get into the home and that they themselves could get sick and be unable to continue to provide care. Those lucky enough to have home help have been nervous about staff bringing in Covid, especially because of the lack of PPE at the start of the pandemic.

Since the first announcements of the vaccine roll-out plans, I have been asking for family carers to be prioritised. The Minister's responses to where carers are in the national Covid-19 vaccination programme implementation plan sequencing table has been beyond disappointing and worrying. The national immunisation advisory committee, the Department of Health and the National Public Health Emergency Team approved the roll-out plan. The HSE is responsible for the roll-out of the vaccines. Yet, the Minister cannot wash his hands of his responsibility in all of this. His replies to parliamentary questions I have submitted on the need to vaccinate family carers urgently have consistently stated:

The priority is to first vaccinate and protect directly the most vulnerable amongst us, that is, those most likely to have a poor outcome if they contract the virus ... hence the focus on the over 65-year-old cohort in long term residential care facilities, and healthcare workers in frontline services often caring for the most vulnerable.

The Minister's replies have noted that "Persons being cared for in the home are a diverse group, therefore, each individual will be vaccinated in the group that is appropriate to them." In addition, they have stated:

Frontline healthcare workers (HCWs) in direct patient contact roles will be vaccinated in Group 2. This includes HCWs working in public, private, and voluntary settings. Other HCWs, not in direct patient contact, will be vaccinated in Group 4.

Other replies have noted that "Family carers are a diverse group, therefore, each individual will be vaccinated in the group that is appropriate to them." They are doing the work that hospital workers and other front-line workers do but they are being left behind.

Is caring for a family member at home not front-line work? Carers are that person's lifeline, his or her connection to the outside world, often administering medication, transporting them to and from medical appointments, and all and every other necessary task that comes with being a carer, depending on the needs of the person. Family carers may be part of a diverse group and people receiving care are also in a diverse group but there is a common theme here, namely, vulnerability. Were carers working in hospital settings, they would be classed as front-line healthcare workers and would have been among the first to be vaccinated.

I welcome the motion before us and note the urgent need for the motion.

Last year, between 14 April and 5 May 2020, Family Carers Ireland undertook a national survey on family carers' experience of caring during the Covid-19 pandemic. At that point none of us could have expected the pandemic to have continued for so long. The report was an online survey and was completed by 1,307 family carers. The respondents were from a range of different caring situations, such as parents caring for children with a disability, people caring for an adult, carers of older people and people caring for two or more people. It was open to respondents aged over 18 years. However, we do know that there are many carers under the age of 18 years and probably more since the beginning of the pandemic. In the census of 2016, there were 3,800 children under 15 years of age providing care to others, which at that time constituted 1.9% of all carers. The report is very informative and some of the findings were that the average age of respondents was 46 years, 95% were women and 3% became carers due to the Covid pandemic.

With an estimated 500,000 carers across Ireland, the online survey of 1,307 responses is just a very small snapshot. However, it does provide some evidence around what we have been hearing anecdotally in our constituencies. Family Carers Ireland estimate that carers save the Exchequer around €20 billion and that around 19 million unpaid hours per week are provided by carers.

At the end of February this year, Family Carers Ireland put out a strongly worded press statement on the exclusion of family carers from the early roll-out of the vaccine. It said that it was "devastating" that carers were once again ignored. It stated:

They were cast aside for PPE, they were ignored for priority testing and now they are being ignored for vaccinations ... The programme for Government clearly states "Family carers are the backbone of care provision in Ireland. They deserve support and recognition from Government". Sadly actions speak louder than words and today our Government has failed family carers.

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