THE DIRECTOR of Clare’s largest voluntary organisation expressed concern yesterday about how it could continue to provide the same level of service in the face of cutbacks and increased pressure on its services.
Clarecare, which employs 500 people, provides services to 10 per cent of the State’s over-65 population and a variety of other services to people on the margins.
Its director, Fiacre Hensey, said yesterday: “The last three years for Clarecare have been particularly difficult. That is largely down to two things: the major one is funding – and we would have taken hits on funding in 2009, 2010 and 2011, and it is very difficult to sustain the level of services as the level of funding goes down.”
He said: “It is ironic for certain services, the demand goes up at the same time that funding goes down. We have not to date cut our services even though our funding has been hit.”
However, Mr Hensey warned that “there is a limit as to how long that can be sustained”.
Clarecare was on the receiving end of a 3 per cent cut in funding in 2009, 7 per cent in 2010 and 3 per cent in 2011, he said.
The organisation depends on funding from the HSE and statutory agencies, while it also fundraises itself.
Mr Hensey said: “There is no reason to suspect that there won’t be a 3 per cent cut or something like that next year.”
The staff at Clarecare’s had a wage freeze in 2009 and cuts of 3 per cent in 2010 and 2011.
As an indication of the increased pressure on services, Mr Hensey said the organisation had seen a doubling in the distribution of Christmas hampers to people in need in the past couple of years. He said many of the hampers, containing essential foodstuffs, went to what he termed the “new poor”.
“These are people, frankly speaking, who have never experienced want or need,” said Mr Hensey.
“There are the younger families who have kids born into plenty, but have hefty mortgages and can’t afford to repay them.
“Many came to us for hampers at Christmas. You could readily see that these people have never asked for something before in their lives.
“They are so happy to get a helping hand because they don’t know how they are going to cope.
“They are the new poor, totally uncomfortable with it and no experience of it.”
