Wheelchair-bound carer appeals to reverse cuts in allowance

A wheelchair-bound woman who is the sole carer for her seriously ill elderly mother has urged Health Minister James Reilly to reverse the carers’ allowance cutbacks.

Carolyn Akintola, from Tallaght, Dublin, was among dozens of carers who made the plea during a high-profile protest outside the Dáil yesterday.

Due to a genetic condition, known as Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, the 49-year-old has heart, muscle and joint problems which have confined her to a wheelchair since birth.