Equality and Social Inclusion in the 21St Century

Equality and Social Inclusion in the 21st Century.

Thursday February 1st 2006.

Conference Sub Theme: Gender, Care and Justice

Title of Presentation: “Supporting Family Carers”

Presented by Dr. Geraldine Fennell on behalf of Brigid Barron Co-founder and Director of Caring for Carers Ireland.

Caring for Carers Ireland is a national non governmental organisation whose objective is to promote the health, well-being and quality of life of Family Carers and those for whom they care. Caring for Carers Ireland promotes recognition of the very significant contribution made by Family Carers to society and in creating a community of caring.

In partnership with the Health Services Executive and other agencies the organisation provides information, training programmes, respite care, financial support, health promotion and advocacy to promote social inclusion for family carers within the context of the Carers Charter. Caring for Carers Ireland has a National Network of 72 Carers Groups representing family carers both North and South.

In this presentation I hope to provide a brief overview of the some inequalities experienced by family carers and how those inequalities can be addressed

Carers are people who provide assistance and support, on an unpaid basis, to family members, relatives or friends who need such care because of disability, old age or long term illness.

Caring is something that touches almost everyone at some point in their lives. Carers make a large economic contribution through the many hours of unpaid caring work they provide. Caring is an important and necessary expression of familial, intergenerational and social bonds and relationships. From our experience of working with family carers we know that family carers want to care for their loved ones. A recent European study on Family Carers, “Eurofamcare” clearly demonstrates that families want to care for their dependent members for as long as possible in their own homes. An equality agenda must deal with the rights and interests of both carers and those for whom they care. This includes carers’ rights to have their own lives and the right of those being cared for to participate in decisions about their own care.

Women as Carers

According to the 2002 Census, almost 150,000 people currently provide care in Ireland. Carers are more likely to be women, but the gender gap in seems to be narrowing Many carers, especially women, also look after children Most carers (57%) provide 14 hours of care or less per week, more than one quarter of carers (27%) provide 43 hours or more of care per week. Those providing care for 43 hours or more per week were predominantly women.

The “typical” carer is middle aged. The Census found more than 11% of carers are over 65 and about 8% are between 15 and 24 years old. Carers in Ireland are drawn from a wide range of ethnic groups and a significant number of people with disabilities are carers. Caring for a parent or parent-in-law is most common, followed by caring for a spouse/partner.

The changing nature of Irish society is having profound implications for caring and for carers with two thirds (64.4%) of carers of working age engaged in either full-time or part-time paid employment. This is largely in response to Labour market policies that seek to mobilise previously untapped sources of workers. Carers have remained in or returned to employment. Health and social care services depend on the presence and contribution of the family care in the home. This leads to great stress for carers in seeking to reconcile paid employment with caring and family responsibilities.

The Caring for Carers Ireland, Carers Charter launched in 1991 stated that “The family continues to be the strongest and most reliable source of care for older people, people with disabilities and those in need of long term care”. This statement remains true to day where 96.4% of older people are cared for in the community. The recently published report “Implementing Equality for Carers” by the The Equality Authority states that the role of the state in relation to family care has been primarily a residual one, with service provided when all else fails, that is, where there is no family to provide care or where family care breaks down. This is based on the premise that families have the main responsibility for caring as a result community care services to date are underdeveloped and in short supply.

The issue of shared caring is an important one for both families and state, and their respective roles in the provision of care in the home. In both Ireland and England there is an absence of either a legal responsibility on family members or a clear state responsibility in relation to care provision, this issue needs widespread debate. There is evidence that caring responsibilities tend not to be shared equally within families, with the bulk of the responsibility tending to fall on to one person, usually a daughter or other family relative. The taking on of the caring role may not always be by choice and in many cases may be unjust. Responsibilities can be allocated by default because the person is perceived to be available. Government policies targeting carers can often reinforce this situation.

The assumption that caring is ‘women’s work’ must be challenged. A family model of ‘everyone doing their bit’ needs to be promoted through policy, programmes and practice. There is a need to develop a greater role for the state in relation to the provision of care services that are appropriate, adequate and accessible and address the needs of family carers and their dependants in the home and at community level.

Key Issues in employment equality for Carers

The challenge is to ensure that:

Genuine choices in relation to caring, paid employment or a combination of both are made available

Flexibility with security for carers, through employment and social protection policies

The provision of an infrastructure of care to support carers in paid employment and those wanting to return to work

Enhanced access to options for work-life balance for carers Financial Aspects: Income and Costs of Care

Access to income and financial supports towards the costs of care services are an important equality issue for carers and for people who need care services.

Carers and organisations call for a payment that recognises and reflects the value of caring work. Many carers currently experience financial penalties as a result of caring. The Carers Allowance and Carers Benefit are set at a basic subsistence payment and do not reflect the current economic value of the caring work being done. An examination of the potential for increasing carer-related social welfare payments and linking these to labour market income levels is recommended.

Health and Social Care services

Caring duties impact on the carer’s physical wellbeing, and research has found that a significant proportion of carers report a deterioration in their health subsequent to taking on a caregiving role. There is need to develop services and supports that directly address carers’ own needs. Training Programmes such as Caring for Carers Caring in the Home Course might develop caring skills and promote self care. There is need to identify the constraints that carers may face due to their caring responsibilities. Planned regular respite might prevent Carer burnout and help promote the carers own health. There is also a need to ensure that Carers have opportunities to participate in the community and wider society, personal development and lifelong learning.

The challenge for public policy and for society as a whole is to give real recognition to Family Carers and to the caring work that they do, to enable the sharing of caring responsibilities, to properly support carers, to ensure that carers actively contribute to decision making, to ensure that carers have equality as regards life choices and outcomes and to maximise the independence and autonomy of people in need of care.

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