Family carers in Clare are pleading with the Government not to leave them in the cold this winter.
Ahead of next week’s Budget announcement, Family Carers Ireland says a reported increase of just seven euro fifty a week in Carer’s Allowance would fall far short of what families need.
Family Carers Ireland says the timing of Budget 2027, which falls on the same day as European Carers Day, gives Government a clear opportunity to turn recognition of family carers into action.
New analysis from the ESRI projects that the need for care among people aged fifty and over will increase by between forty-nine and fifty-eight per cent by 2040, depending on demographic and healthy-ageing trends.
Family Carers Ireland says that makes it essential that supports for carers are strengthened now, before pressures on families and services become even greater.
It is calling for Carer’s Allowance and Carer’s Benefit to be increased to 325 euro a week, the Carer’s Support Grant to rise by 150 euro, and for a right to appropriate, free and regular respite to be introduced.
Clare Family Carer Support Manager Fiona Hartigan says there are significant hidden costs involved in caring which are not being acknowledged.
Bunratty resident Sinéad O’Brien’s son needs round-the-clock care from her and her husband due to complex medical needs.
She says she lives with the fear of what would happen to him if they were no longer there to provide that care.
Sinéad says there are no proposals around respite or adult services, or what supports would be available to her son if his parents could no longer care for him.
You can listen to the full interview here:
