Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Seanad Éireann:

recognises: - the important role that carers play in looking after our loved ones in their homes;

- the importance of family supports, where available, in caring for loved ones;

- that in 2020, the Irish Health Survey showed that there were over 500,000 family carers in Ireland and of that, 88,900 are in receipt of Carer’s Allowance and over 52% of carers work outside the home in paid employment in addition to their role as carer;

- that family carers, while undoubtedly cherishing their loved one, provide care at times at considerable personal sacrifice; acknowledges: - the Government has increased the expenditure on this support by over 50% in the past 5 years;

- the importance of home care packages in providing vital additional hours of supports to families caring at home;

- the role that Nursing Homes and Disability Services play in caring, particularly for those with complex needs or with life altering conditions;

- that over 135,000 carers will receive regular income supports to the value of approximately €1.5 billion in 2021, which include Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant;

- that many in receipt of the Carer’s Support Grant qualify for a GP visit card, as the grant is paid automatically to persons on Carer’s Allowance or Carer’s Benefit and that carers may in some instances qualify for the Household Benefits Package and/or the Free Travel Scheme;

- that work is ongoing within the Department of Health to develop a system for the financing and regulation of home support services, in addition to the introduction of a reformed model of service delivery that will ensure the provision of home support in a transparent, equitable manner based on standard assessment of care needs; calls on the Government to: - immediately implement the review of the National Carer’s Strategy to include a review of the thresholds for receipt of Carer’s Allowance;

- accelerate the work on the Programme for Government commitment to extend free GP care to carers in receipt of the Carer’s Support Grant being delivered by the Department of Health in conjunction with the Department of Social Protection;

- report on the Commission on Pensions review of a pathway whereby lifelong carers are provided with practical recognition in the form of a pension for those whose caring role has denied them access to the workplace and thereby denied them the ability to build their entitlement for a pension;

- publish the pathway to ensure full implementation of the Enhanced Community Care Programme intended to expand primary care capacity and improve access to therapy services such as speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, psychology and physiotherapy, acknowledging that an additional €150m has been committed to its implementation;

- accelerate the implementation of the not yet commenced sections of the Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) Act 2015;

- provide training courses for home carers to help in areas such as health care, lifting, mobility, etc. which would be beneficial to both patients and carers; and

- provide enhanced respite care services to include emergency provisions to accommodate instances where carers may themselves be hospitalised or need emergency respite services for their loved one in the event of an unforeseen circumstance arising.

I wish to share time with Senators Martin Conway and Paddy Burke.