One of the loneliest jobs a person can do is not working on an oil rig or spending months at an Antarctic research station; it’s being a carer. Margaret E Ward looks at the emotional and physical toll and, in light of Government inaction, asks what we can do to help

According to the 2006 Census, more than 160,000 Irish people are carers looking after parents, siblings or chronically ill spouses. Those being cared for may be elderly, chronically ill or have an intellectual or physical disability.

 Not only is it a lonely life, it can also be an arduous one, both physically and mentally. Bernadette Brady, who spent years caring for her elderly mother, a dementia sufferer, wrote in the Irish Times last December: “I was working 365 days of the year, 24 hours a day in total isolation as a sole carer. I was on my knees with exhaustion.”

Lives curtailed
Tiredness is just one cross carers have to bear. A November 2008 report by the Care Alliance found that carers were more likely than the general population to report poor health and lower quality of life, and more likely to suffer from back pain (from lifting a disabled or frail person), depression and anxiety. They have little or no time for socialising or leisure activities, are constantly on call and are often sleep-deprived. They are often overwhelmed and their work goes unacknowledged.

The Carers Association estimates that three million hours of care are provided each week in Ireland by family carers, at a value to the State of more than €2.5 billion a year – a figure that is not included in Ireland’s gross domestic product (GDP). Even this simple fact is a slight, say carers, who feel it’s just another way their contribution is unrecognised.

Punishing cutbacks
To heap insult upon injury, carers have been ever more poorly treated in recent years. The Government had plans to publish a national carer’s strategy, as promised under social partnership and the Programme for Government. This plan was abandoned in March 2009 in what the-then minister for social and family affairs, Mary Hanafin, described as a “difficult decision”. An outrageous decision would be more like it.

Then, in December, both carers’ allowance and carers’ benefits were cut in the budget by €8.50 a week. That might not seem like much but, for someone struggling to get by on little more than €200 a week, it was a significant cut. Still, carers had to count themselves lucky. Before the budget, the Government was also considering taking away the half-rate carers’ allowance, which is paid to those in receipt of another social welfare payment, such as a pension. That payment survived the cuts but it’s questionable if it will make it through another slash-and-burn budget.

Any cut to payments for carers is not only disgraceful but short-sighted. The cost to the Exchequer of these payments is far less than it would be to pay for full-time institutional care for the sick and disabled people concerned. If carers are not adequately supported by the State, they may not be able to continue caring full-time.

It seems entirely obvious that they should be given as much help as they need but the myopic authorities don’t always see it that way.

Need for leadership
In some cases, it’s not necessarily more money that is required but for someone “on high” to take responsibility of support for carers and put in place a standardised, over-arching system, rather than the uneven patchwork of help options currently available.

A home care package scheme, that can include anything from home help to physiotherapy to cash payments, is in operation. However, as Caring for Carers pointed out in February, this scheme is not available nationwide. It is implemented on an ad-hoc basis and there are no national guidelines for the operation of the scheme or admission to it.

Furthermore, although annual respite care grants of €1,700 are available to carers, the respite system is somewhat piecemeal, with care provided by the HSE in some areas and by voluntary organisations in others.

In any case, carers need more than a week or two’s respite a year. They need regular respite services, including some night-time respite care, so that they can, even once every so often, get a full night’s sleep.

Let’s care for carers
While improved State support for carers may be a long time coming, there is plenty that the rest of us can do for carers. They need practical and emotional support from family and friends; an hour off every now and then or a quick chat on the phone could make the world of difference to someone.

As our population ages, it’s inevitable that more and more people will become family carers, so it’s ever more imperative that their valuable role in society is recognised and rewarded.

Carers’ Week (www.carersweek.ie) runs from June 14th to 20th and comprises dozens of events for carers, including social outings

Useful websites
Age Action Ireland: www.ageaction.ie
Carers Association: www.carersireland.com
Caring for Carers: www.caringforcarers.ie
Care Alliance (an umbrella organisation for family carers’ groups): www.carealliance.ie
Carers.ie caters specifically for end-of-life carers

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