I do not usually publish personal responses but am making an exception here as Minister Eamon O'Cuiv's reply to the issues I raised in my open letter to him ( see previous article) speaks volumes with regard to the State's attitude to Carers.

Dear Gaia

I would like to thank you for your e-mail.  I fully appreciate the
work of Carers.

I think, sometimes, it is overlooked that the Carer’s Allowance is
basically a social welfare payment introduced to help people care for
their family members and was never intended as a wage............

Mise le meas,

Eamon O'Cuiv TD,

Minister for Social Protection.

                                         .............................................

Dear Minister...
               May I respectfully point out that by your definition, an unemployed person undertaking 19.5 hours of caring in a daycentre is performing 'waged labour' but a Carer undertaking the same work in the home is not, despite the fact that they may have had to lose their own employment in the process and may be providing constant care every hour of every day of every week. May I also point out that if such a Carer ceased to provide this care the state would be legally obligated to take over and that those employed by it to replace the said carer are then also undertaking 'waged labour'.
             I would be interested to hear your explanation of this interesting paradox.
                             Yours Sincerely,
                               Gaia Charis.