Family Carers Ireland is a non-profit organisation based in Dublin,
Leinster.
History
It started as The Carers Association in 1987, and was the first national carers association for lobbying government, representing family
carer
A caregiver or carer is a paid or unpaid member of a person's social network who helps them with activities of daily living. Since they have no specific professional training, they are often described as informal caregivers. Caregivers most commo ...
s and advocate for carers rights in Ireland. The national census of 2006 shows that there are 160,917 people who stated that they are carers and almost 41,000 of these carers are providing 43 or more hours of care each week. The association estimates that carers provide 194 million hours of care a year to the value of about 2.5 billion Euros to the economy. Approximately 33,000 full-time carers qualify for the Carers Allowance from the government. This Allowance is
means test
A means test is a determination of whether an individual or family is eligible for government assistance or welfare, based upon whether the individual or family possesses the means to do without that help.
Canada
In Canada, means tests are use ...
ed. The government has committed to developing a National Carers Strategy by the middle of 2008.
The Carers Association was the subject of a chapter-length study in ''Care Work: The Quest for Security''.
Merger with Caring For Carers Ireland
Caring For Carers Ireland was
a national care organisation in Ireland
that provided training on homecare and computer skills to family carers, as well as talks on the issues affecting family carers.
In addition to assisting carers directly, it collaborated with other care organisations and academics in order to raise awareness of issues faced by carers, including by facilitating access to carers for interview,
and convening conferences of care organisations.
It was founded in
County Clare, around 1988
-1990,
by
Soroptimists
Soroptimist International (SI) is a global volunteer service club, service organization for women with nearly 72,000 members in 121 countries worldwide. According to Soroptimist.org, their mission statement says that, "Soroptimist is a global volun ...
.
Its importance in social care in Ireland was acknowledged by multiple government ministers.
Around 2015–2016, it merged with The Carers Association
to form Family Carers Ireland.
See also
*
Caregivers
A caregiver or carer is a paid or unpaid member of a person's social network who helps them with activities of daily living. Since they have no specific professional training, they are often described as informal caregivers. Caregivers most commo ...
*
Carers rights movement
*
Caregiving and dementia
As populations age, caring for people with dementia has become more common. Elderly caregiving may consist of formal care and informal care. Formal care involves the services of community and medical partners, while informal care involves the s ...
*
Caring for Carers Ireland
Family Carers Ireland is a non-profit organisation based in Dublin, Leinster.
History
It started as The Carers Association in 1987, and was the first national carers association for lobbying government, representing family carers and advocate ...
References
Medical and health organisations based in the Republic of Ireland
1987 establishments in Ireland
Carers organizations
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