There was a halt to “politics as usual” yesterday at Limerick City Council as councillors of all parties and none put aside their traditional differences to support a motion backing SIPTU’s Home Helps and Home Care campaign. Over 70 SIPTU Home Help workers were in attendance at City Hall to watch the debate.The motion, proposed by Sinn Fein’s Maurice Quinlivan, and seconded by Independent councillor, John Gilligan, called on city councillors to support SIPTU’s national Time to Care Campaign which opposes further reductions to Home Help and Home Care services. The motion also called on the HSE and the Minister for Health “to cease the practice of cutting home help hours due to financial considerations only and not the needs of the clients or the integral role home care workers play in the HSE.”
In his speech, Councillor Quinlivan condemned “the wholesale privatisation of the Home Help service which is now underway” and called for the immediate restoration of hours that have been cut in recent weeks.
Full support for the motion was received from all councillors present including the Fine Gael and Labour representatives.
Many Home Helps spoke beforehand of the impact of government cuts to the people they were looking after. Helen Ryan from Kilteely, Co Limerick, described how a 91 year old woman living on her own who is partially blind was told that she would have to do without the service on Tuesdays from now on. Geraldine Hickey from Pallasgreen explained how it was proposed to cut hours of support for another 91 year old client even though the individual in question is suffering from Alzheimer’s, is unable to walk and requires the highest levels of personal care.
SIPTU Campaign Co-ordinator Miriam Hamilton said; “We are delighted that every Limerick City councillor has chosen to back this campaign which is about fairness and dignity for some of the most vulnerable people in our society.”
“Minister James Reilly has cut over one million hours of care this year to elderly and disabled people. Many of these people have no other family to care for them. These cuts are also making life impossible for home help workers some of whom have been reduced to as little as two hours of work per week.”
The city councillors agreed to seek an urgent meeting with the Minister of Finance, Michael Noonan, on this issue. Home Help activists also pledged to take further action through their union to keep up the pressure on Government until such time as the cuts are reversed.
