Caring for Carers Ireland, Annual Conference, 26 March 2011
Published: Sunday, April 03, 2011
Clare Treacy, chairperson of the National Women's Council of Ireland, gave a presentation on a gender perspective of caring at the Annual Conference of Caring of Careers Ireland.
"The NWCI has a mission to promote the equality and participation of women in society, the economy and in public life.
The NWCI has for many years been campaigning and advocating for the rights of Carers and for a better recognition and value to be given to the work carers carry out. We recently lobbied the government to ensure that Carers benefits would not be cut. We are currently drawing up a gender mainstreaming strategy for health to ensure that a gender perspective is given to the planning and implementation of health care policies and services. We launched a Charter on Gender Equality on international women's day this year, to get service providers, the government and local authorities, to take gender issues seriously.
And we have consulted with women across the country on the 'Right to Health'. These and other consultations found that Carers experience significant inequalities, poor access to health and social services, isolation, poverty and low levels of participation in decision-making. We found that Carers have restricted choices regarding their independence, participation and employment opportunities, which limits their quality of life, health and well-being. "