The National Carers’ Strategy, which was published in July 2012, is a cross-departmental strategy that sets the strategic direction for future policies, services and supports provided by Government Departments and agencies for carers.
It sets out a Vision and an ambitious set of National Goals and Objectives to guide policy development and service delivery. The objective is to ensure that carers feel valued and supported in their caring role and are empowered to have a life of their own outside of caring.
The Strategy also contains a Roadmap for Implementation. This Roadmap also outlines the timelines and the Departments with responsibility for the implementation of the Strategy's various elements.
Each Department has appointed a senior official to take responsibility for relevant actions and for the provision of up-dates to the Cabinet Committee on Social Policy. Each Department will also produce an annual report on progress, which will be published on its website.
My Department has overall responsibility for overseeing implementation and a progress report on overall implementation will be produced on a periodic basis over the lifetime of the Strategy and presented to the above Cabinet Committee. The first progress report on implementation will be considered by the Cabinet Committee at its next meeting.
As implementation progresses, the Strategy will be reviewed on a periodic basis to consider whether adjustments or additional actions are appropriate.