REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE AT THE CONFERENCE ON RESPITE CARE
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE AT THE CONFERENCE ON RESPITE CARE FOR PEOPLE WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES
I am very happy to have this opportunity to join you during your conference and workshop – and I would like to thank Eugene McCague for his warm words of welcome to this important conference – bringing together concerned professionals from the universities, the statutory agencies and the institutions – all of whom are concerned with the rights and treatment of people with learning disabilities – and with the plight of those who carry the burden of caring and providing for them.
The profound changes that society – and particularly society in Ireland – has seen over the last quarter of a century – with increased economic prosperity – with changes in family structures – new perspectives on the delivery of health and welfare services – have had varying degrees of impact on the providers of services – and on the users of those services. It stands to reason that in a situation of relatively rapid change – with different pressures on resources – and new thinking and practice on the use of those resources – that new requirements arise from those changed circumstances. The trend towards reducing the number of people with disabilities in residential care has tended to shift the burden to those at home – and this at a time when the traditional family unit has been changing – with the move towards greater independence especially for the elderly – and rising life expectancy rates where, with the tremendous advances in medical science and pharmacology – life expectancies are continuing to improve – and things which defeated us a short time ago are no longer insuperable.
In my role as patron of a number of organisations – especially those like the Down Syndrome Association or Cerebral Palsy Ireland – and in my encounters with other organisations and institutions that are meeting the needs of people with learning disabilities - the requirement for respite care has been raised again and again – and is becoming an increasing concern for people who are torn between the desire and wish to provide for their loved ones – and the need to ensure that their own health and strength remains sufficiently robust for them to continue. These are the unsung heroes and heroines – who put others first all the time – who have little time for themselves – and for building up their energy levels again – and for whom respite care is the only opportunity they have to build up their energy reserves – not necessarily to give them a great quality of life – but to give them enough of a quality of life to be able to stretch themselves – and to recommit themselves to the vocation of caring. It is important to bear in mind that respite care is credible – that it is to the benefit of the person being cared for as well as the carer – that it is a two-way process with two sets of benefits.
In organising this conference – you are focusing on that growing requirement. I know that you have already looked at some issues today relating to support for families who are providing care in their homes – and the challenges to be faced in the provision of respite care – and that you have a full programme of sessions and discussions covering the many topics and disciplines that impinge on the whole area of respite care. Occasions like this usually mean a lot of hard work – both for delegates and presenters – as new information is shared and analysed – and new views and ideas are explored. I commend all of you on taking the time out from your busy schedules to be here for this conference - for having the openness of mind, the intellectual curiosity and the concern for the carers who bear an increasing burden in their lives.