Home help carers to take to streets in cuts protests

Home help carers to take to streets in cuts protests


Anton McNulty

Home Help carers from across Mayo are to engage in a number of protests in coming weeks because of proposed cuts to the service which union officials say will ‘pulverise’ the service.
There are 599 home help providers in Mayo and there is growing concern among them regarding existing cuts and proposed plans by the HSE West save €550,000 following a review of the service. Earlier this year a plan was introduced which will see the number of home help hours a patient will be entitled to cut to a maximum of 7.5 hours a week, which can only be availed of Monday to Friday during office hours.
Colm Keaveney, a SIPTU official in Mayo told The Mayo News that they are very concerned by comments made by Minister for Health, Mary Harney on national radio last week regarding cuts to the health budget. He claims she said that certain services were a ‘luxury’ in the context of the new budget and was fearful of what type of home help service will be on offer in the coming months.
Mr Keaveney explained that SIPTU represents the majority of Home Help carers and will take ‘direction from their members’ in the coming days regarding what type of action they will take.
“We are looking at a number of forms of action which we can take and these include high profile protests on the streets,” he explained. “Home help carers have the least working conditions, have the hardest job and are the worst treated. Their hours have been pulverised, not cut, and they are dealing with vulnerable people living in isolated areas who will be abandoned under the Ministers plans. The home help service is of great concern to us and going from Minister Harney’s comments on radio, there may not be a home help service next year.”
Erris based councillor, Rose Conway-Walsh (pictured) who is a member of the Erris Home Help Action Group said that economically it did not make sense to cut home help hours because it would mean elderly people would have to remain in hospital instead of going home. She said that in rural areas like Erris where there is a high number of elderly people, home help was an integral service and said people were angry with the cuts.
“I have dealt with hundreds of appeals from people who have had their home help hours cut. This area has been devastated with emigration and often there is no-one left to care for the elderly. One man said to me that if he gets sick in the night he will know the home help will come in but there is a fear now that they will be ill and nobody will see them. I know lots of people who would end up in hospital if it wasn’t for home help and these cuts do not make economic sense,” she said.