Carers Association to launch advocacy campaign

The Carers Association is urging family carers to get involved in lobbying the Government for a better life for carers.

The call comes on foot of Monday night's 'Prime Time Investigates' programme which highlighted the human price of Government cutbacks on carers.

It showed that 82% of carers say they have been affected by cutbacks in the health budget and almost a quarter say the overburden of work has left them with physical disabilities.

The organisation is launching its One Voice campaign today aimed at getting all family carers involved in calling for the implementation of the National Carers Strategy and the reversal of spending cuts.

“We are urging people to join us to take action against further cuts to family carers and lobby for Government to complete and implement the National Carers Strategy," said Catherine Cox, Communications Manager of The Carers Association.

"With at least 161,000 family carers in Ireland, a figure expected to substantially increase in Census 2011, we want people to join us to become one powerful representative voice to reverse cuts to carers," she added.

“As we have seen, many family carers are living on the breadline, in very difficult circumstances made much worse by state cuts. We are more powerful in numbers and ‘One Voice’ is our new membership campaign for carers and those who want to make a difference to the lives of family carers, to join us in the fight for a better life, entitlements and supports for family carers.”