MORE than 100,000 people in the country, mostly women, look after others at home yet receive little or no assistance or financial support, according to a new report which recommends a framework to support carers.
The report, by the Oireachtas Committee on Women's Rights, calls for a White Paper on "Policy on Carers and Caring" to show how funding can be provided and to highlight the problems.
At a press conference yesterday to launch the report, the chairwoman of the committee, Ms Mary Wallace TD, said carers were neglected and unrecognised. In spite of the strain, most were satisfied with their lives.
However, all studies indicated that carers spent many hours providing care - one study suggesting that most spend over 45 hours a week directly engaged in caring. This restricted job prospects and lead to financial pressures associated with the costs of caring.
Ms Wallace said caring could also involve personal costs, with many carers feeling that their responsibilities restricted their social lives and affected their relationships with family members.
The committee recommended the White Paper, saying there was a clear need for a Government policy statement on care provision over the next 10 to 15 years. This, it said, must he underpinned by a comprehensive definition of community care and a full financial commitment. .
The key issues were funding and resourcing for care services; how care needs could be reduced; how the supply of informal carers could be increased; and the provision of appropriate supports to carers in the community.
Ms Wallace said the trend toward community care instead of institutional care would increase and so would the demand for carers. Carers were saving the State a fortune. A bed in a nursing home could cost £350 a week. Carers were paid £67 a week and home helps were paid £1 an hour.
They wanted to put their finger on where the funds could come from. Funding had previously been put into institutional care but now that there was an emphasis on care in the community, the funding should shift to where those community needs were.
The report recommends the White Paper should set out a clear policy on an appropriate balance between the three different sources of funding and resources which now existed: voluntary contributions; financial contributions from the persons requiring care and their families; and general taxation.
Public funding of community care services was justified on the basis of social justice and should be increased. Alternative methods of funding should be examined by the Departments of Health and Finance.
Other recommendations include reducing the need for care by providing preventative health care, and accessible housing and technology.