Annual Report &
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No one should have to care alone 2020 Annual Report & Financial Statements CONTENTS Family Carers Ireland Annual Report 1 OVERVIEW 2 POLICY & PUBLIC AFFAIRS 39 CHAIRPERSON’S WELCOME ..................................................................... 2 POLICY HIGHLIGHTS .....................................................................................39 FAMILY CARING – THE BIG PICTURE IN IRELAND TODAY .........3 GENERAL ELECTION 2020 .......................................................................39 MESSAGE FROM THE CEO .........................................................................4 PROGRAMME FOR GOVERNMENT ................................................... 41 OUR MISSION & VISION ...............................................................................5 BUDGET 2021: LIFE AFTER LOCKDOWN ........................................ 41 COVID-19 RESPONSE ......................................................................................6 POLICY PAPERS, SUBMISSIONS & SOCIAL DIALOGUE ....43 2020 AT A GLANCE ...........................................................................................8 REPRESENTATION ON NATIONAL COMMITTEES ..................43 SUPPORTING FAMILY CARERS 9 RESEARCH 44 MEET FAMILY CARER, JOHANNE ..........................................................9 STATE OF CARING 2020 .............................................................................44 NATIONAL FREEPHONE CARELINE ..................................................10 YOUNG CARERS IN IRELAND REPORT ..........................................44 GROUPS & ACTIVITIES .................................................................................. 11 BEHAVIOURS & ATTITUDES RESEARCH ......................................45 MEMBERSHIP COMMUNITY .................................................................... 12 PARTNERSHIPS ..................................................................................................45 WEBSITE & SOCIAL MEDIA ....................................................................... 13 NATIONAL RESPITE WEEKEND ............................................................ 14 THANK YOU 47 MEET FAMILY CARER, LYNSEY ..............................................................15 PUBLIC FUNDING & SUPPORT ............................................................. 47 IN FOCUS – ENNIS & TULLAMORE CENTRES .............................16 CORPORATE FUNDERS ...............................................................................48 ONLINE WORKSHOPS & PROGRAMMES ..................................... 17 E-LEARNING COURSES .................................................................................19 MEET OUR DIRECTORS 49 INNOVATION & STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS ............................. 21 CARING EMPLOYERS .....................................................................................25 DIRECTORS’ REPORT 53 YOUNG CARERS .................................................................................................26 KEY OBJECTIVES ..............................................................................................53 MEET YOUNG CARER, EOIN .................................................................... 27 ACHIEVEMENTS & PERFORMANCE .................................................54 CARER WELL-BEING .......................................................................................28 STRATEGIC PLAN: 2018 - 2023 ..............................................................55 COUNSELLING SUPPORT FOR FAMILY CARERS ...................30 FINANCIAL REVIEW .......................................................................................58 EMERGENCY SCHEME .................................................................................. 31 STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE & MANAGEMENT .......................62 HOME SUPPORT SERVICES ..................................................................... 32 DIRECTORS’ RESPONSIBILITIES STATEMENT ............................69 INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT ................................................70 RAISING AWARENESS 34 STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES .......................................... 72 NETWATCH YEAR OF THE FAMILY CARER .................................34 BALANCE SHEET .............................................................................................. 73 CHOIR OF UNSUNG HEROES ................................................................35 STATEMENT OF CASHFLOWS ................................................................ 74 BRAND AWARENESS CAMPAIGN .......................................................35 NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS .....................................75 TWIST & SHINE ...................................................................................................36 FAMILY CARERS IN THE MEDIA .......................................................... 37 APPENDIX - DISCLOSURE OF STATUTORY & CORPORATE SUPPORT 90 REFERENCE & ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS 91 2 Family Carers Ireland Annual Report Overview CHAIRPERSON’S WELCOME It gives me great pleasure to introduce the fifth annual report “As an organisation on the activities of Family Carers Ireland (FCI). Life is not easy for anyone at the moment but I am acutely aware of the very dedicated to their many ways Covid-19 made the already challenging role of family carers even more difficult throughout 2020. By many welfare, we have worked international benchmarks, Ireland’s response to the pandemic is good - public policy is effective at getting us to stay behind hard to adapt and our front doors but it is much less effective at addressing what’s happening behind those doors. innovate so that we Many family carers experienced increasing feelings of isolation, can offer relevant and stress and being presumed upon as the year progressed. As an organisation dedicated to their welfare, we have worked practical supports to hard to adapt and innovate so that we can offer relevant and practical supports to family carers throughout the country and family carers throughout overall it was a year of greatly increased activity and innovation as described in this report. Particular highlights included: the country.” • provision of emergency supplies of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to over 3,000 families who were unable to access it in the early stage of the crisis when On behalf of the entire board, I thank our staff whose supplies were very restricted; flexibility and unfailing commitment to the organisation’s • a new emergency response service (supporting mission allowed us to constantly reconfigure our services to the Emergency Care Plan booklet) that offers the such good effect throughout the year. Particular thanks is due reassurance to every family carer who registers that to our Senior Management Team for their creativity and sheer we will support their loved one if they are unable to hard work. continue caring for any reason; and • a holistic support process for families in crisis, framed Finally, everyone involved with FCI owes a very particular by seven aspects of carer well-being, that incorporates debt to our unpaid, volunteer directors who bear increasingly a new intensive telephone/online counselling support onerous responsibilities as a result of company law and service and funding for short-term emergency charity regulations. 2020 presented many additional and supports. unprecedented challenges including constantly evolving government guidelines and forced innovations such as an As chairperson of the board, it falls to me to thank those who online AGM. Our board continued to operate ‘virtually’ enable and support our work. The crisis seriously impacted throughout the year and addressed each new challenge in a our traditional fundraising activities and we were blessed way which reflected our absolute commitment to the highest to receive great support from some significant corporate standards of charity governance. donations – I would like to acknowledge in particular Irish Life, Tesco and An Post whose early support, in cash and in kind, was critical to enabling us to respond to new needs as they emerged. I would also like to acknowledge the critical support provided to Family Carers Ireland by a variety of state agencies including, in particular, the HSE – without access to core funding we would be unable to deliver the range of services we currently offer. I should also acknowledge the increasing levels of engagement across the public service with issues relating to family carers and the sustainability of long-term care in Ireland over coming decades. The sustainability of Ireland’s health system is utterly reliant on family carers, not only in crisis periods such as the current pandemic but also in ‘ordinary’ times when they are central to hospital efficiency and the management of increasing cases of complex chronic conditions in community settings. Dr. Shane McCarthy Chairperson Family Carers Ireland Annual Report 3 Family caring – the big picture in Ireland today people in Ireland * are family carers (That is 1 in every 8 adults) *approx. figure That is more than Family carers provide million young people aged 10-17 hours years provide regular of unpaid care each unpaid care week By 2030 1 in 5 Family carers save the state €20 EACH will be a family carer BILLION YEAR family carers receive the Carer’s Support Grant MAX. RATE CARER’S €219 ALLOWANCE family carers receive Family carers are the only social welfare recipients Carer’s Allowance required to work full time, yet only receive €16 (That is only 1 in