THE GOVERNMENT has been urged to maintain the support services and payments available to carers when it draws up the 2012 budget.
Catherine Cox of the Carers’ Association said some 161,000 carers provided millions of hours of care to family members every year, a quarter of them working on a full-time basis, and saved the State about €3 billion annually.
However, she said less than a third of those working as carers qualified for the carers’ allowance, a maximum weekly payment of €204 for people caring for under-65s, and some 20,000 received only €1,700 a year in the form of a respite care grant.
Ms Cox said it was important the payments provided to carers did not fall further as many people were already struggling to get by on the allowances they received.
“People working as carers earn just €10 more than people on jobseeker’s allowance even though many of them are needed almost 24 hours a day seven days a week.”
Ms Cox was speaking yesterday following two Carers’ Association briefings for TDs and Senators in Leinster House.
About 65 TDs and Senators attended.
