Independent Ireland councillor and Galway West by-election candidate Noel Thomas has said family carers must be recognised and supported as a central part of Ireland’s health system, not treated as an afterthought.
Councillor Thomas was speaking after recent comments by President Catherine Connolly and a statement from Family Carers Ireland on the Government’s emergency energy package.
Councillor Thomas said President Catherine Connolly was right when she said that carers are “the backbone of our society.”
“President Connolly is absolutely right. Carers are the backbone of our society. They do extraordinary work every single day in homes and communities across Galway and across Ireland.”
He said the warning from Family Carers Ireland that many carers were left behind by recent emergency energy supports showed the gap between how carers are praised and how they are treated in practice.
“Family Carers Ireland was also right to say that many family carers were left behind. That is the problem. We rightly praise carers, but too often we do not support them properly when it matters.”
Councillor Thomas said family carers are effectively providing frontline care in people’s homes every day and are helping elderly people and vulnerable family members remain at home and in their communities.
“Carers are providing care day and night in the home. They are allowing elderly people to stay in familiar surroundings and they are taking huge pressure off hospitals, nursing homes and the wider health service.
“They are saving the State millions of euro every year, yet too often they are still penalised rather than rewarded.”
He said many carers face financial strain, higher home energy bills, difficulty accessing supports and too little respite.
“Caring takes place in the home. That means higher heating, electricity, hot water and transport costs. For many carers those costs are unavoidable. It is simply wrong that the people holding so much of the system together are too often the ones left carrying the heaviest burden.”
Councillor Thomas said that from his work over a number of years supporting families across Galway, the issue of caring in the home has become one of the most consistent and growing challenges.
“For years I have been working with families across Galway who are doing everything they can to care for loved ones at home. What I am seeing now is that the pressure is increasing year on year.
“There simply are not enough carers available, and families are finding it harder and harder to get the hours they need. In many cases, people are stepping in themselves because they have no other option.
“That is putting huge pressure on families, on working people, and on those trying to balance care with their own lives.”
Councillor Thomas said that unless the system changes, the situation will continue to worsen.
“If we don’t support carers properly and encourage more people into caring roles, the pressure will only build — and that pressure will end up back in our hospitals and emergency departments.”
Councillor Thomas said the Government must now move beyond warm words and deliver practical reforms that reflect what carers and advocacy groups have been calling for.
He said this should include ending the Carer’s Allowance means test, providing a fair and adequate income for carers, ensuring a real right to respite, fully delivering the Statutory Home Support Scheme, and supporting working carers so that people are not penalised for staying connected to employment.
“If we want more people to take on caring roles, we need to make it possible and sustainable for them to do so. At the moment, too many people simply cannot afford to become carers.
“Supporting carers is not just the right thing to do — it is essential if we are serious about reducing pressure on hospitals and building a health service that works.”
“From working with families across Galway, I see every week the pressure carers are under. They deserve recognition, but more than that, they deserve real support.
“If we are serious about fixing our health system, we need to start by supporting the people who are already holding it together.”
