David Cullinane
Question:1158. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health his plans to deliver a carers guarantee of services; the estimated cost of such a plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21473/20]
View answerTuesday, 8 September 2020
Questions (1158)
Written answers
As the Deputy will be aware, the Programme for Government commits to delivering a ‘Carers Guarantee’ that will provide a core basket of services to carers across the country, regardless of where they live. This commitment is consistent with the National Carers' Strategy, which seeks to support family carers to care with confidence through the provision of adequate information, training, services and supports.
As reflected by the National Carers' Strategy, the needs of family carers encompass a wide range of areas and involve a number of Government departments. In relation to my own role as Minister for Health, I am committed to listening to family carers and their representative organisations and working with my Government colleagues to ensure that we are providing the most appropriate supports to help sustain carers in their caring role. My colleague Mary Butler, T.D, the Minister with responsibility for Mental Health and Older People at the Department of Health will hold a roundtable with Family Carers on 15 September to hear about their experience as carers and how we can best support them in their caring role, in particular, given the challenges associated with the Covid-19 pandemic.
It should be noted that under the existing National Carers' Strategy, a range of measures have been introduced or extended by my Department to support family carers in recent years. Since September 2018, free GP visit cards have been extended to persons in receipt of the Carer’s Allowance. The Programme for Government commits to further extending this service to recipients of the Carer's Support Grant. In addition, the 2020 National Service Plan provides for an additional 1 million home support hours in 2020, while up to 1,000 new community frontline staff will be recruited to enhance community care under Sláintecare.
The Programme for Government commits to reviewing and updating the National Carers' Strategy and it is in this context that the carers' guarantee commitment will be addressed. The HSE have also committed in the 2020 National Service Plan to pilot the Carer's Needs Assessment Module of the InterRAI needs assessment tool in the context of testing of the Statutory Homecare Scheme. This will help identify the needs of family carers and how best to respond to them.