I have just had a look at the Manifesto for Carers Ireland, where there is going to be an election.
It includes
removing the means test for Carers Allowance
the right to 4 weeks respite.
I think it would be really helpful for family carers in the UK to have a similar “manifesto”.
What do you think? What should be included?
Just looking at the Irish General Election , 2016 , and what the political parties were offering :
All political parties bending over backwards to gain the carer vote.
For example … Fine Gael … until the 2020 election , one of the two major parties in Ireland :
Fine Gael
• Implement in full the National Carers’ Strategy
• Increase Carer’s Allowance and Carer’s Benefit by €20 per week by 2021
• Standardise the delivery of home care services
• Involve family carers in care planning together with more accessible training and respite
• Increase home help provision by 2.2 million hours
• Increase the number of Home Care Packages
• Develop new technologies and solutions to help people remain independent in their home
• Increase funding to the Housing Adaptation Scheme to €66m by 2021.
Carers Ireland manifesto for the recent one :
A lot less than our one … less over there to fix !
As for our manifesto … a simple " Fix this lot " … as aptly laid out by our very own Lord Kitch :
https://www.carersuk.org/forum/news-and-campaigns/latest-caring-news/lord-kitch-poster-our-tombstone-all-our-concerns-under-one-thread-some-20-years-veterans-make-up-the-majority-27982?hilit=lord%20kitch
Nothing on respite care … yet … bad enough when we ask the question " What emergency cover ? "
Slogan ?
" No carer should be in poverty as a direct result of caring ! "