A charter of basic rights should be drawn up for Ireland's estimated 120,000 family carers, their representative body has said.
The Carers Association says services and supports to carers looking after elderly or disabled relatives in Ireland lag years behind other European countries.
Despite the fact that the work of family carers saves the State some €2 billion annually, the sector is unregulated and underfunded, with carers deprived of basic rights in relation to payment and working conditions.
The association yesterday hosted an international conference in Dublin aimed at identifying progress in the area worldwide, with experts from Europe, the US and Australia.
Delegates heard that in many other countries in Europe, the work of carers was properly recognised, with services provided on the basis of the needs of the individual carers in the home.
The chairman of the Carers Association, Mr Seán Gallagher, called for services to be provided on the basis of their needs rather than on their incomes. The carers allowance is a means-tested benefit, with a maximum weekly payment of €129. "We need to end the penal means testing of the carers allowance for full-time carers," Mr Gallagher said. It needed to be independent of all other welfare allowances.
More older people requiring care coupled with the economic pressures which made it difficult for working families to afford home care for elderly or dependent relatives could create a huge increase in demands on the State, he added.
Mr Enda Egan, the acting chief executive of the association, said it was time to ask the hard questions about how the work of carers was supported. "In light of the massive contribution we make to this country and this society, the ambivalence with which carers are currently often treated cannot continue," he said.
An estimated annual €2 billion contribution to the economy by carers was largely ignored and those who made the contribution were often unknown and were largely unrecognised by the system.
"This is indeed a strange state of affairs. To put it in perspective, suppose that an industry existed in Ireland which was worth €2 billion to the Exchequer, not to mention a large range of spin off benefits. Imagine that no one really knew how many people worked in this industry," he said.
"Suppose that the majority of employees found themselves compelled to work for no wages. Those that are paid receive no more than €129 for a seven-day week. There are no breaks; employees were not entitled to any training before beginning their jobs and many of them suffer from stress and ill health because of the constant and unremitting demands of their jobs.
"In short, they have no rights, no entitlements and are paid little or nothing. Most people would say it could never happen, but as we well know, it does. This is the situation faced by carers in our country." Investment in a reasonable system for carers would pay dividends well beyond the principal sum invested, he added.