Submission to the Irish Government on the Carers Strategy on behalf of the Carers Interest Group by Marian Harkin MEP and Kathy Sinnott MEP.
Department of Social and Family Affairs - National Carers' Strategy Consultation
Introduction
The European Parliament Interest Group on Carers was launched in June 2007 with the aim of ensuring that policy development takes the issues of carers into account and to check policies for their impact on the situation of carers.
Irish MEPs Marian Harkin and Katy Sinnott on behalf of the European Parliament Interest Group on Carers, welcomes the Department of Social and Family Affairs - National Carers' Strategy consultation, which as part of the National Social Partnership Agreement Towards 2016, launches a public debate that is committed to developing a National Carers' Strategy in 2008. Changing social realities necessitate a fresh analysis and appraisal of current policies and the European Parliament Interest Group on Carers believe that all informal and family carers in the community deserve greater recognition and support.
Carers and Changing Social Realities
An estimated 100 million Europeans provide regular care, unpaid, for a relative, partner, neighbour or friend, who may be ill, frail or disabled. Carers are an inherent and indispensable part of long-term care provision and of the organisation and sustainability of care systems. Caring is also at the heart of our personal and community relationships; and yet, many carers feel undervalued and unsupported.
Ireland will face the challenges brought about by a combination of demographic developments. The ageing of society, leading to an increasing number of people in need of care, combined with changes in size and composition of families and labour market change (an increasing number of women entering the labour market) will impact on the availability of family care. This is rapidly leading to the need for concrete policy measures in support of carers.
Over recent years, the debate in relation to demographic change has focused on the sustainability of pensions and social security systems. However, these changes also create other social and economic challenges: currently, many carers juggle work with care. The evidence shows that the vast majority of carers would like to work if they could. Informal care is the foundation of sustainable health and care systems, however, policies do not take into consideration unpaid carers, their needs and the needs of those they care for.
If the Irish Government is seriously committed to developing a successful Carers Strategy, it is critical carers are given greater support, greater choice and greater autonomy.
Key areas for action
1 Investing in fulfilling careers
We believe there is a growing need to recognise the importance of reconciliation of work and family life, and this notion should be extended beyond childcare. Enabling a better balance between work and family life is the key to unpaid care provision, and policy measures to facilitate this better balance is urgently needed.
Throughout Ireland many carers juggle work with care and the evidence shows that the vast majority of carers would like to work if they could. In Ireland there are approximately 3,000 carers under the age of 18 years old carrying out caring responsibilities, responsibilities which are traditionally borne by adults. Caring has a range of impacts, including lost opportunities for training and education, changing to less well-paid, less responsible positions and being forced to take up part-time work. We would like to underline that carers run the risk of being left with insufficient pension and social security rights as a result of having to leave paid employment because of caring responsibilities.
These periods spend caring for others should not damage a carer's entitlement to a contributory state pension. Currently there are no arrangements in place to ensure the future financial security of carers. The Government should introduce a policy whereby carers who give up work to care will have their PRSI contributions paid during the period of caring and should also investigate the removal of the carers partners means from the means test for the Carers Allowance payment. What a carer's partner earns should not have any impact on the carer's ability to qualify for financial support.
As a means tested payment, carers qualifying for Carers Allowance should not be taxed on such a payment. Carers provide a much needed service and save the Irish State millions of Euros in health care provision. The Carers Interest Group therefore calls on the Irish Government to reconsider their policies with regard to tax and Carers Allowance. Women are most affected in this respect, which raises serious issues in relation to equal opportunities, poverty and social inclusion.
It is critical that the development of a Carers Strategy responds to the needs of all carers, including those who work or want to work.
2 Investing in active inclusion and non-discrimination
A key concern for the European Parliament Interest Group on Carers is the issue of discrimination. Discrimination from (potential) employers, public authorities and other providers of goods, facilities and services is widespread.
Employment-related discrimination:
Carers report discrimination in employment in many areas including:
lack of access to work
problems in returning to work
lack of access to training at work
Carers face difficulties in accessing training such as FAS courses while claiming Carers Allowance - as carers must not be engaged in training or education courses outside the home for more than 15 hours a week, whereas a FAS course requires 19.5 hours a week. This pose major challenges for carers seeking to gain access to employment in the future.
lack of access to higher level jobs
lack of flexibility from service providers
However, the fundamental discrimination is that caring is not itself considered work. Until caring is respected and recognised as work, discrimination will continue.
Disability-related discrimination:
Carers are two to three times more likely to have a lifetime limiting illness if they are providing substantial care compared with those who are not carers. Healthy ageing is vital and supportive structures for carers in this respect will be needed.
Carers can be treated differently or bullied by others because the person they care for has a disability or chronic illness, e.g. schizophrenia. This particularly applies to child carers who may be caring for a parent with a mental illness.
Age-related discrimination:
Carers are most likely to be caring for older people. One out of four persons is a carer between 45 and 54 years of age. These carers are more likely to give up work in order to care and this is particularly true of workers close to retirement. Because of this age profile, if a carer gives up work to care, they are more likely to find it harder to return to work. In this instance the Government should also consider investigating the possible of removing the system whereby many elderly persons are disqualified from receiving the Carers Allowance because they are in receipt of a State Pension.
Gender-related discrimination:
In terms of gender, women are statistically more likely to provide substantial care: 42% of men as opposed to 58% of women. Women are more likely to give up work in order to care.
Differences exist between men and women in terms of the care they need. Men are more likely to receive personal care services; women might want a different service e.g. help with gardening. However, since this is not as easy to obtain as personal care services, women often end up with no service at all.
The European Parliament Interest Group on Carers would like to see carers recognised as a distinct group that face discrimination in a number of areas as well as a number of specific ways and would encourage the Government to include carers in future equality policies and initiatives.
3 Investing in gender equality in labour law
There is a clear gender dimension to caring, we would like to draw attention to (potentially) conflicting policy needs, both partly stemming from demographic ageing, which need to be reconciled if an economic and social balance is to be met. On the one hand, there is an economic need to increase labour market participation in order to keep national social security systems financially sustainable. On the other hand, the growing number of frail older people is rapidly leading to an ever growing need for care provision, which puts pressure on national health and social security budgets.
The European Parliament Interest Group on Carers would also like to highlight that while women are more likely to provide substantial care, a growing number of men provide significant levels of care to their friends, partners or relatives, and their contribution must also be acknowledged and recognised.
An example of legislation which ignores the contribution of carers and fails to take them into account is the Time at Work Directive. The provision in this Directive for "on-call" working time will make providing respite to carers far more expensive and in many cases impossible. Whereas the on-call provision will provide fairness for employees like hospital and security staff, it will make life much harder for the family carer to get respite. The fact that the needs of the family carers were not included in this Directive once again highlights the fact that informal care is not valued to the same extent as formal care.
The European Parliament Interest Group on Carers would like to see the Government develop appropriate labour market policies and labour law that reflect the social reality with regard to all carers, which will enable carers to reconcile their caring and working life.
4 Investing in longer and healthier lives
The European Parliament Interest Group on Carers would like to emphasize that longer lives and better healthcare, coupled with technological change make care outside hospital and residential settings ever more possible. We believe it is time to design a new social contract for care which goes beyond the traditional view of a contract between the state and the individual and calls for new commitments which also involve employers, local agencies and communities. We all have a role to play in supporting carers within our communities since care is something we can all expect to provide and receive at some point in our lives. All stakeholders need to be clear about their roles and responsibilities and to agree a core set of values if they are to provide the support that carers need. Demand for care is rising, and as a society we must make caring possible, this is absolutely crucial in enabling ill and disabled people to live as they choose. A basic set of principles need to be established. Services provided by carers need to be assessed accordingly to the needs of the person in care.
5 Quality Care at Home
The European Parliament Interest Group on Carers would like to emphasize the importance of the provision of quality home care and help - we call for the introduction of an adequate minimum standard length of time allocated to home help at each visit - a home helper should be there not just to do things but also to just be with the person in need of care. The continuity of personnel is extremely important, and we would call on the Government to ensure that recipients of home help are given the option to choose the type of professional help needed and choose the home helper who will work in their home. It is also vital that an inspectorate of home helpers is established in order to monitor and evaluate the quality and standard of home care provided. In order to ensure the best care for patients, we highlight the importance of providing practical, professional and formal training for informal and family carers. We call on the Government to put the patient and not the system at the centre of policy formulation.
Informal and family carers save the Irish Government millions of Euros each year in care provision, in order to recognise and value the work done by informal and family carers - we call on the Government to provide regular, free respite cover in return. Carers should be seen as an investment rather than a cost.
6 Information, advice and advocacy
The European Parliament Interest Group on Carers recognises that many informal carers and family carers feel isolated, and feel that there is a lack of information provision on their rights and entitlements as carers. We call on the Government to provide a comprehensive central point of contact which will provide information, support and advocacy to all carers.
Conclusions
The European Parliament Interest Group on Carers would like to thank the Government for this welcome focus on all informal and family carers in the community. Carers form the bedrock of our health and social care systems, but at a wider level are critical to the future economic and social sustainability of Ireland. Carers need to be at the forefront at any future debates and initiatives and the European Parliament Interest Group on Carers hope to have continued dialogue and involvement in this regard.
On behalf of the European Interest Group on Carers:
Marian Harkin MEP Kathy Sinnott MEP
Ireland North West Ireland South
