Almost 40,000 people over 70 are providing full-time care for another person, usually a family member, according to figures released at the start of National Carers Week.
At the other end of the age scale, there are more than 4,000 carers who are under the age of 15.
The week was launched simultaneously in Dublin and in Co Mayo by Taoiseach Enda Kenny.
Speaking in Dublin, Shirley Thornton described coming back from the UK to look after her increasingly frail parents, while at the same time looking after her eight-year-old son. She found she was constantly disappointed in her search for resources and assistance.
Ms Thornton said that she wondered how the State could provide care services without the army of care providers who “put their lives on hold” because of their love for a family member. She hoped in future the State would not “disrespect” her son for being a warm-hearted carer, in the way she believes it currently does to many carers.
Children’s rights campaigner Senator Jillian van Turnhout said language and terms used by the medical profession were among the most difficult obstacles for carers and the people they were looking after.
Simply understanding doctors and other professionals was a big difficulty, and carers and families were often left wondering if doctors were “trying to tell us something, or perhaps trying not to tell us something”.
Three new factsheets about dementia were launched by the Irish Hospice Foundation and the Alzheimer Society of Ireland as part of carers week.
They are aimed at helping carers and families understand Alzheimer’s disease as it progresses, as well as providing them with tips on loss and grief.
Marie Lynch of the Hospice Foundation said: “People with dementia and many family carers want information about what to expect in the future and to understand the changes that dementia brings.”
Yvonne Rossiter of Acquired Brain Injury Ireland said there was an increased dependency on caregivers to look after brain-injured people.
Liam O’Sullivan, executive director of Care Alliance, the national network of voluntary organisations supporting family carers, called for a focus during carers week “on doing something” for those who contributed so much to Irish society.
“Whether you just call in, make a meal, offer help or support or, if they are far away, give them a call to say, ‘you are doing something really important’. There is a huge value in simply saying ‘thank you’.”
This is the ninth year of carers week.
It involves more than 150 events across the country, reflecting the work of 187,000 family carers.
What caring means: Two case studies
Áine O’Riordan looked after her mother, Mona, until her death at the age of 92 last March. Originally from Birr, Mona was a pharmacist and ran a pharmacy in O’Devaney Gardens in Dublin.
“My mother worked until she retired at 78” Áine said. “Even then it was hard to get her to retire”.
But three years after her retirement, Mona’s husband died and she was left alone, a prospect she resolved that “she had just got to get used to”. But she became forgetful and it later became clear she was suffering from dementia, “so obviously some help was needed”, Áine said. She also needed more help due to arthritis and other issues.
At the launch of National Carers Week, Áine thanked the Irish Hospice Foundation for the help it provided to her in looking after her mother. Geraldine Renton and her husband, Dave, have three boys, Ethan (13), Jack (10) and Daniel (18 months).
Ethan has Hunters Syndrome, which his mother explains is similar to juvenile Alzheimer’s, but accompanied by physical degeneration. His long-term prognosis is not good and he is doubly incontinent.
His mother says she must get him up, give him physiotherapy and shower him while finding the time to clean his bed.
At the same time she has to get Jack, who has attention deficit hyperactive disorder, out of bed, dressed and ready for school while also attending to the needs of toddler Daniel.
Dave takes Jack to school; Ethan is collected. Geraldine needs to get dinner prepared while the children are out because she would not be able to do it when they come home.
After campaigning for it, she has secured respite care for Ethan - one day every six weeks. She says she can’t speak highly enough of the care provided. She is currently hoping to have the respite hours extended.
She blogs at geraldinerenton.com
