Family Carers Ireland

Family Carers Ireland is pleased to launch our Local and European Election manifestos in advance of the elections that will be held on Friday, June 7th.

Home is a special place and research consistently shows that people with care needs want to continue living and being cared for in their own homes and communities. Local government plays a critical role in helping to achieve this by ensuring that the infrastructure, transport and housing foundations are in place to create vibrant and progressive communities that support people to live and be cared for at home, at the heart of their family, friends and community. Our Local Election manifesto ‘Building Caring Communities’ calls on local election candidates to make 10 pledges to better support family carers in their region by improving housing, transport, disabled facilities and the accessibility of public spaces and the built environment.

FCI’s European Election manifesto ‘Building a Caring Europe’ calls on candidates running in the European election to pledge their commitment to building a more caring Europe that values, respects and supports family carers and promotes the rights and values enshrined in Article 2 of the EU Treaty - respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality and the wellbeing of its people. Specifically, FCI is calling on candidates to pledge that if elected to the European Parliament, they will work to implement the proposals contained in the EU Care Strategy and join the EU Champions Group for Family Carers, an active, dynamic and forward-looking group of MEPs from across member states who support the creation of a more carer-friendly Europe.

We encourage you to print our Family Carers' Canvas Card and leave copies close to your front door (or download a copy to your phone) so you can raise these important issues when Local or European election candidates canvas your area.