Support vital for carers to live and survive in Tipperary
Funding presented to Family Carers Ireland by Rotary Club
As the Rotary Club of Clonmel presented a cheque for €3,000 to the Clonmel branch of Family Carers Ireland, a local carer highlighted how vital such support was.
The money was raised at a well-supported flag day in the town and presented by Rotary president, Richie Molloy, and vice-president Ian Bowen, to local carer, Barbara Kovach, and the regional manager of Family Carers Ireland, Martin Ryan.
Mr Molloy, who is also the local manager of Family Carers in Clonmel, thanked the people of Clonmel for their generous response to the collection.
Local carer Barbara Kovach said it’s known that it takes a village to raise a child, but it takes the support of the people of Clonmel to help carers in the town to survive.
“And it’s not just living, it’s survival”, she said. Barbara has been caring for her son Liam for nearly twenty five years and had to give up her business management career to do so.
“Every day is a struggle. From the time you get up in the morning to the time you go to bed at night, it’s a constant battle – between caring for the person, trying to get services because there are no services, and looking to our TDs or anybody for help”, she told Rotary members.
And she added – “So this is where Family Carers come in. They are our advocacy group and they lobby politicians, the HSE and anyone else they can to get the things we need. The biggest thing is respite because carers get burnout caring for someone on a 24/7 basis. We also struggle financially so it’s very important that we get help from the community and this support from Rotary is a huge boost”.
Regional Manager Martin Ryan pointed out that Barbara’s story is replicated across the country with Family Carers working in every county.
“While we get core funding from the HSE and the Department of Health, it’s donations such as this from Rotary that can provide respite, training, activities and breaks away for carers. Barbara’s story is a really good indication of the struggles that our carers face and as an organisation we will continue to lobby and advocate on behalf of carers.
“Barbara is a member of our local assembly, representing carers in Clonmel and throughout South Tipperary on the national council, where we are trying to make sure that politicians hear our voice. The budget is coming up and the government has made a lot of guarantees to carers and it’s our job to make sure that they follow through on those”.
Mr Ryan added that local fundraising was vital and the €3,000 from Rotary would make a huge difference to carers in Clonmel. “So, thank you for remembering us”, he added.