Report highlights ‘failure’ to support carers seeking work

EMPLOYMENT legislation and State supports have failed carers looking for full or part-time work, a report found yesterday.

Almost a third of those looking after a dependant relative or friend has to devote over 43 hours a week to such care.

Most carers are struggling to juggle caring and work commitments, as they try to combine the mostly unpaid duty with work.

Now the Equality Authority has taken up the plight of the nation’s carers and has set up an advisory committee to report on carers and strive for better supports for them. Their report highlights just how forgotten the nation’s carers are and how they are struggling to keep down a job.

“Our report has highlighted a tension between employment policies which seek to maximise participation by previously under-represented groups including carers,” said Equality Authority chief executive Niall Crowley.

“This tension inevitably ends up limiting the choices for carers, who seek to combine caring and employment,” he added.

The equality report highlights what carers have known for years. It shows that services available to those who need them are under-provided and over-stretched. And it shows there are huge variations between one health board and another.

The Caring, Working and Public Policy report also shows that services are rationed on the basis of medical criteria, without any reference to the needs of carers. It also highlights the low levels of pay, when people are actually paid for caring for dependants.

“There is clearly a need for further policy development and greater investment in care services if the situations and experiences of carers are to be improved,” Mr Crowley said.

The Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs said it has begun to put in place a framework within which carers needs are being better catered for.

However, the report identifies the need for further policy development, greater investment in care services and more opportunities for carers to continue in or return to paid work.

The Carers’ Association said it welcomed the Equality Authority coming on board. “We are looking forward to seeing the report and welcome their involvement in this area,” said the association’s chief executive, Enda Egan.