How Is This A “Caring Budget”? - Family Carers Ireland Bitterly Disappointed That Homecare Crisis Ignored in Budget 2019 [09.10.2018] Family Carers Ireland is challenging the Finance Minister’s claim that Budget 2019 is a “caring budget”. We are bitterly disappointed that Government has ignored the current crisis in homecare with no significant changes announced to address this major issue amongst family carers […]
Leading NGOs Call for Additional €100m Investment in Home Care in Budget 2019 - A group of Ireland’s leading not for profit organisations and campaigners came together today [01.10.2018] to highlight the urgent need for investment in home care services pending the introduction of a statutory home care scheme. While the Department of Health’s plan to establish a statutory home care scheme by 2021 is welcomed by all groups, […]
Constitution Should Recognise and Support Family Carers - Family Carers Ireland supports amending the wording of the Constitution to ensure the work of family carers (male and female) in the home is recognised and valued. [26.09.2018] Representatives of Family Carers Ireland (CEO John Dunne and Head of Communications and Carer Engagement Catherine Cox) appeared before the Oireachtas Justice and Equality Committee today to […]
Family Carers Ireland Launches New Support Group in Limerick - Family Carers Ireland, in conjunction with the Metropolitan Mayor of Limerick Daniel Butler, has launched a new support group for Family Carers providing care to children. The event, which took place at Limerick City Hall, was attended by Mayor Daniel Butler, LCCC; John Dunne, CEO of Family Carers Ireland; Victoria Ward, Support Officer with Family […]
GP Visit Card Welcome But Scheme Should Be Extended - Family Carers Ireland welcomes the introduction of the GP visit card scheme for family carers in receipt of Carer’s Allowance or Carer’s Benefit and believes that it will have a real and positive impact on the physical and mental health of carers who qualify under the scheme. “We are hopeful that it will introduce preventative […]
Final Call for Carer of the Year - The deadline for nominations for the Family Carers Ireland CarePlus ‘Carer of the Year’ awards is extended to the 28th of September 2018. The ‘Carer of the Year’ awards recognises Carers for the extraordinary hard work and dedication involved in caring for their loved ones everyday. Family Carers Ireland need your help to identify these […]Dramatic Drop In Respite Care Sessions Since 2017 Is Unacceptable - Family Carers Ireland express concern as emerging figures show provision of respite care is on a steady decrease Figures released to Sinn Féin TD Louise O’Reilly (see below) regarding the provision of respite care to family carers across Ireland have caused major concern for national advocacy group Family Carers Ireland. The data shows that 1,741 […]
Family Carers Ireland Welcomes Revised Application Form for Carer’s Allowance - Family Carers Ireland welcomes the launch of a new application form for Carer’s Allowance. The CR 1 document has been updated following an inclusive consultation process involving the Department of Employment and Social Protection, Family Carers Ireland and a focus group of family carers who shared their own experiences and made key recommendations on how […]
‘Shine a Light’ on Caring on June 21st - On Tuesday June 5th Family Carers Ireland with the support of Brendan O’ Connor and our sponsors CarePlus Pharmacies launched our ‘Shine a Light’ campaign. Thursday 21st June this year will be a national day given to raising awareness of family carers in Ireland and at the same time raising much-needed funds. As the 21st […]
National Carers Week 2018 - National Carers Week is running from the 11th to 17th June this year. As always, Family Carers Ireland will be heavily involved in planning activities and events for carers around the country. These will be added in the coming weeks to the ‘Events’ section of the website http://www.carersweek.ie/ You can also check with your local […]
Meriden Family Programme Training for Carers and Staff - From Tuesday to Thursday May 15th – 17th, a group of 21 including FCI team members and Carers from around the country are the first group in Ireland to train as Facilitators of the Caring with Care program, delivered by The Meriden Family Programme. Family Carers Ireland has a valuable resource to deliver training to Carers caring for people with mental health […]
Workshop on Assisted Decision-making (Capacity) Act 2015 - FCI and the HSE hosted a workshop for family carers on the Assisted Decision-making (Capacity) Act 2015 on Monday April 23rd in Dublin. The Director of the Decision Support Service Áine Flynn and Patricia Rickard-Clarke, a legal expert on the Act, were in attendance at the event along with family carers from across the country. It […]
Better Energy Warmer Homes Scheme - A question often asked by carers is whether any grant exists to help with the upgrade of their homes and up to now little has been available. The good news is that since January 2018 Minister Denis Naughten made households where a child is in receipt of Domiciliary Care Allowance eligible for the Better Energy […]
Online CareGuide Tool for Family Carers - We are excited to launch our CareGuide tool for carers. FCI recently developed an online informational tool to help carers, the CareGuide. It is simple to use and the completed guide, which is based on the details entered by the carer, provides a source of information on rights and entitlements, health and wellbeing, finances and […]
Life After Care Conference June 18th - Family Carers Ireland will host a one-day conference on the theme of ‘Life After Care’ on Monday, June 18th in the Hilton Hotel, Inchicore Road, Kilmainham Dublin 8 (tea/coffee from 9.45). The conference is funded through the Pobal Dormant Accounts scheme, and is part of a suite of initiatives FCI is running across the country […]
CarePlus Pharmacy Carers Coffee Mornings - To coincide with the launch of Carer of the Year 2018, CarePlus Pharmacies around the country held coffee mornings to welcome carers and to raise awareness in the wider community of the role of carers which the awards seek to recognise and celebrate. Leinster Young Carer of the Year 2017 Alannah Donnelly subsequently appeared […]
Launch of CarePlus Carer of the Year Awards 2018 - Launch of CarePlus Carer of the Year Awards 2018 April 25th saw the launch of the CarePlus ‘Carer of the Year’ awards 2018. The launch took place at The Westin Hotel in Dublin and was hosted by broadcasters and Family Carers Ireland patrons Mary Kennedy and Marty Whelan. They were joined by 2017 Carer of […]
CarePlus Pharmacy Carer of the Year 2018 Nominations Open April 25th - Nominate a carer you know for an Award! Why is CarePlus sponsoring the Carer of the Year Awards? The local pharmacy is one of the first key points of contact for family carers to speak with health professionals in your community. When loved ones are first diagnosed with an illness or disability the support that […]
Double payment of Fuel Allowance - With the cold weather please note that there will be a double payment for anyone who is in receipt of the Fuel Allowance this week. The decision has only been made as of today so if anyone on the payment is unsure of the government’s decision please be assured that you will be receiving the […]
Update to the 4th National Carers Strategy Scorecard - This version of the National Carers Strategy Scorecard document was updated in January 2018. A number of errors were brought to our attention relating to our reporting on the Department of Education’s performance in the first edition of this the fourth scorecard. We had incorrectly reported that the Department of Education failed to report under […]