Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 3 July 2025
353. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Health if her attention has been drawn to the specific concerns related to the poor mental health reported by a significant proportion of family carers; if she will examine existing mental health supports for this cohort; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36747/25]
View answerFamily carers are key enablers for Government policy to support people to live with dignity and independence in homes and communities of their choosing for as long as possible by providing vital care to some of our most vulnerable citizens. As Minister for Health, I recognise the essential role that family carers play in the provision of care in Ireland. Every day, family carers through their selfless hard work, knowledge and compassion enhance the quality of life of their loved ones. This commitment can have a negative impact on the mental health of some family carers, which is why my Department will deliver over the lifetime of the Government on the Programme for Government 2025 commitments to assist family carers in their caring role by:
• Progressively increasing funding for respite services, including the Home Support Emergency Respite Scheme.
• Increase support for carers – providing training, establishing clearer pathways to services, and improving access to respite.
• Fully fund the Carer’s Guarantee.
Government policy on family carers is set out in the National Carer’s Strategy which provides the strategic direction for future policies, services and supports provided by Government departments and agencies for carers. The Strategy is designed around a core vision which recognises and respects carers as key care partners who are supported to maintain their own health and well-being, care with confidence and participate as fully as possible in economic and social life. Oversight of the Strategy is led by my Department , with individual Government departments leading on action areas that fall within their remit.
National Goal 2 of the Strategy is to “support carers to manage their physical, mental and emotional health and well-being”. A number of actions have been implemented to deliver on this goal.
Carer’s Guarantee
Since Budget 2021, recurring funding of €2m has been allocated towards the Carer’s Guarantee, to provide a core basket of services to carers across the country, regardless of where they live. €0.6m in additional funding has been provided in Budget 2025, bringing total funding for the Carer's Guarantee to €2.6m.
This funding helps to provide a more standard package of supports to family carers in every region, in tandem with the community and voluntary sector. From 2025, €2.44 million of this funding will be provided to Family Carers Ireland (FCI) to deliver a mix of community and individual supports across five areas of activity: psychosocial supports community carer supports; intensive and emergency supports; education and training; and FCI’s freephone careline. €160,000 is supporting the development and delivery of online supports for over 10,000 family carers through Care Alliance Ireland by means of an online support group.
Respite
Respite care is a vital part of the toolkit to support family carers. Respite care may involve providing alternative family or residential care for inter alia older people and people with physical and intellectual disabilities to enable the carer to take a short break, a holiday or a rest.
Respite may be provided in the community within the person’s own home, in HSE residential care settings, by agreement with voluntary organisations or by contracted private facilities. It may involve day or overnight respite.
From 2021-2023, a Family Carers Needs Assessment was piloted in Community Healthcare West to test the implementation of the interRAI Family Carer Needs Assessment (FCNA). The pilot examined the role of the family carer, how caring affects them, and how much care they can realistically provide while still allowing for involvement in other activities. The FCNA identified the types of support family carers need to support them in their caring role and how these can be met. It also identified barriers to providing support including family carers not self-identifying as a family carer and a focus of health and social care professional on the person in receipt of care to the detriment of the family carer.
This pilot is part of a larger ongoing international study of the interRAI FCNA. The project’s final evaluation report was published in March 2024. While awaiting the final results of the international study, the HSE and the Department of Health are considering what next steps may be required to further support family carers.
Home Support Emergency Respite Scheme
The ‘Home Support Emergency Respite Scheme’ (Scheme) commenced on the 1st of June 2021. Emergency respite services are defined as substituting for the family carer, either by placement of an in-home care worker or the temporary placement of the care recipient outside the home to deal with emergency situations such as:
• Actual or imminent carer burnout;
• Family crisis such as death or illness of a close relative, relief for families in end-of-life situations;
• Necessary medical appointments and hospital admissions;
• Crisis healthcare (physical, psychological or emotional);
• Unexpected care transitions e.g. new employment or living arrangements.
Funding was allocated by the HSE to Family Carers Ireland (FCI) in 2023, 2024 and 2025 to deliver the Scheme and provide 27,000 hours of respite per year.
GP Visit Cards for Carers in receipt of Carer’s Allowance
Since September 2018, individuals in receipt of either a full or half-rate Carer's Allowance or Carer's Benefit are automatically eligible for a GP visit card. On foot of this measure, as of 1 June 2025, 7,920 people in receipt of either full or half-rate Carer's Allowance or Carer's Benefit have gained GP Visit Card eligibility. It should be noted that many carers may have already held a medical card or GP visit card prior to this welcome policy change.
A range of other measures have been introduced in recent years to expand access to GP Care including the automatic awarding of a GP visit card to all persons over 70 in 2015 and increase to GP Visit Card income thresholds in 2019. In addition, under the GP Agreement 2023, GP visit card means-tested eligibility was fully expanded, as per that Agreement, to all those who earn up to the median household income from November 2023 (having commenced in September 2023). Approximately 430,000 people under the means-tested expansion were estimated to be eligible under this expansion.” Altogether, as at 1 June 2025, more than 2.3 million people or 42.8% of the population currently have access to free GP care through either a medical or GP visit card.
Women’s Health Fund Project on Midlife and Older Women Family Carers
Funding of €250,000 has been approved under the Women’s Health Fund for a project to support midlife and older women family carers. The project aims to research the impact of the gendered nature of family caring on midlife and older women’s health and wellbeing and to develop effective responses to support women carers. The project will be undertaken by Family Carers Ireland with oversight by the Department of Health.
This project will deliver an evidence base for women’s health issues associated with caring into middle and older age by assessing the effectiveness of available supports and a report will be produced on the effectiveness of available supports for sustaining caring into later life.
