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[translated] I am of the opinion that a pensioner has paid a rather large sum to the State month after month all his life. In old age, when that person would need long term care the state should participate in the necessary costs of the care and not leave the family to do it alone.

[Translated – excerpt] Long-term care is an obligation of society. The administration has to participate and set criteria for equality, but it has to get involved in management, if it wants to do so under the same conditions as everyone else. Give a choice to the citizen who chooses what he/she wants, not what the administration thinks (free choice). Care should be directed by the people, not only centred on them. Empowerment of the citizen. Promote professional training and above all competences and skills. Increase staff ratios and salaries, and above all work/family/leisure balance. There is a lot of work to be done.

Thank you for dealing with this study as it will help many people.

[translated] It is not easy to gain the trust of a stranger and let them take care of you. Trust and safety are also very important factors in receiving /providing long-term care.

[translated] I would gladly take care of my family members if there were not serious issues that put a big barrier between me and them. It’s easy to place the responsibility on the shoulders of family members when one needs support, but no one considers that the one who is supposed to be the caregiver may be rejected from this role. It is a particular situation, but unfortunately not unique.

[Translated] I have long cared for my sister and my mother, and now my husband who has cancer and is bedridden! I wish someone [could support me] for a few hours or once a few days so that I could go away once with my daughter and granddaughter or make a trip!

For the past ten years, I have been providing care to my mother with dementia and complex care needs whilst at the same time raising two children alone following the break-up of my marriage due to domestic abuse, and trying to combine this with work. I am exhausted and feel completely burnt out. Caring has negatively impacted on my work and career and affected my family life. My mother has recently moved to a small scale nursing home where she is so happy and so well looked after. There is huge pressure on families to continue to look after people with highly complex care needs and I question that. There are too few small scale nursing homes in Ireland.

[…] My elderly grandmother lived with my family for 25 years and she needed substantial care for the last 15 years of that. My mother was a full time carer for her and could not work. There was definitely family expectation that this would be the case. Eventually she was too frail to be at home and she lived in a nursing home for the the last 10 or so years of her life. Both of my parents mental and physical health improved substantially after that. They were still involved in visiting frequently, bringing food, doing laundry but they were also able to live their own lives. I feel very strongly that care should be provided for older people

[translated] You’ve made me think … I will have to come up with a plan for the future.

[Translated] Children and partners should never be forced to take care of their relatives. Everyone wants to be able to live their life the way they want. It’s great that a survey like this is being done. Thank you!