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ONE IN THREE people in Ireland will experience cancer at some point in their lives.
Every year, the Irish Cancer Society holds its fundraising event Daffodil Day, which enables it to raise money to help those affected by cancer – whether they have the disease themselves or someone in their family does.
The day sees volunteers from around Ireland giving their time to get out on the streets and collect money, or organise events at their home or workplace.
Raising funds
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Irish Cancer Society, and the 26th of Daffodil Day, so we spoke to the society’s Head of Fundraising Mark Mellett about where the funds go.
“We have a fantastic team of volunteers,” said Mellett, adding 6000 people register with them on average each year. “We rely totally on voluntary funding – we get little to no Government support.” Every year, 20 per cent of its funding comes from Daffodil Day.
“Daffodil day is our key event to help deliver the funds necessary to ensure we can meet the demand for services,” said Mellett. “It’s critical to the ability of the organisation to meet the growing demand and need.”
Fifty five per cent of the overall funding is spent on programmes and campaigns; 19 per cent on research; 2 per cent on advocacy; 20 per cent on fundraising and 4 per cent on governance and communications.
“We are working in our overall vision towards a future without cancer. That is what drives what our services are and where money is directed to,” said Mellett.
Their cancer information service is a key part of this.
We really want to make sure that no one has to go through a cancer journey alone and they have the best support they can get. A cancer diagnosis, it is devastating. You need support, not only medical support, which is there and is great, but you also need other types of support.
The freephone national cancer helpline(1800 200 700) is staffed by qualified nurses, and the level of support is really meeting demand, said Mellett.
The ICS has extended that information service to its Daffodil Centres in hospitals, and in its cancer centres through Ireland – and is looking to grow more of these.
Families are using it as way of going in and meeting someone who you know has had a cancer diagnosis. It’s a very difficult thing to talk to someone about.
They received 30,000 inquiries on the national helpline, and Daffodil centres had almost 30,000 inquiries in the past year.
Up to 200,000 people would have been impacted by the Cancer Society services. Without the Daffodil Day we wouldn’t be able to deliver that.
Night nursing
The night nursing service is a free service is for people who are very seriously ill with cancer, and may have come to the end of their cancer journey.
They want to spend time at home and not be in a hospital environment. A qualified nurse will come to your home, at night time. It is fantastic support for patients and family that they are going to get the level of care they need support, and emotional support. The letters we get back in from the people who have benefited from the night nursing [talk] about angels coming into the house.
One man loved Daniel O’Donnell. One night his family in the house were woken by the sound of nurse and patient singing Daniel O’Donnell tunes. Last year 7,250 nights of care were delivered to nearly 2000 patients.
They also have Care to Drive, which involves transporting cancer patients to and from their hospital treatment and involved 6,000 journeys last year.
The ICS also offers financial aid to help take the pressure off people. Last year, they gave €1 million in grants. They work with cancer support centres to deliver counselling, and delivered €200,000 in grants to cancer support centres.
Their Survivors Supporting Survivors initiative is a one-to-one programme funded through Daffodil Day, where someone who has gone through the cancer journey is there to help and support others. Mellett said feedback has shown them that this can be hugely powerful for people.
Cancer research
Then there is the area of cancer research. “By ensuring cancer research is carried out here in Ireland, the level of care is at the highest level,” said Mellett. “We have a huge quantity of bright people coming out of Ireland. We want to make sure as many people are attracted to cancer reasearch as a career as possible.” With this in mind, the ICS, offers a fellows and scholarships scheme.
“Over the 50 years we have been in existence, 650 discoveries have been made by projects funded by ICS,” said Mellett. €2.5 million was invested last year in cancer research.
The enemy of cancer is cancer research. We have got a very good record here in Ireland in cancer research and we want to ensure we can increase that.
The amount of money that is given to each programme varies from year to year depending on its particular needs. “Our support service are very much demand-led,” said Mellett.
The recession has impacted on people’s finances – has this been noticed by the ICS?
“It has been tough and we recognise that it’s difficult for people,” said Mellet. “But what we’re seeing is we are being hugely encouraged by people’s real conviction to help the ICS.”
There probably hasn’t been a family in Ireland that hasn’t been affected by it. We are definitely seeing an effect of the recession, but with Daffodil Day the generosity has been amazing.
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I worked in childcare for ten years and myself and my co workers had every illness going and were almost permanently sick. Its a combination of the long hours, the physicaliity of the work which is exhausting and spending your days in fairly crowded conditions with lots of small children. The wages are so bad and we were sick so often we couldn’t afford to take many sick days and had to go in sick most of the time. Its known as the burn out profession and I gave up when I developed chronic fatigue, haven’t had a cold or a virus since.
I’ve worked in childcare for 20 years and sorry to say have heard this story only too often. Childcare providers, children and parents are being hardest hit with the short sighted policy in Ireland and the lack of funding/ supports in the early years.
If my childcare providers increase its fees by say 12%,it will be the same as my mortgage !! And my bundle of joy was born in August,which means he can’t start school till he is 5 !!!
I am a sessional childcare provider who cannot afford to pay sick pay if it is brought in. I have 3 fantastic staff who are qualified & experienced & their wages reflect this, leaving a very tight margin at the end of the year. I had a tax audit two years ago & revenue wondered why I am still in business. My reply is that I love what we do & we can & do make the difference to young children’s lives.
Well said Mag.
The government needs to start coping on to the fact that Childcare is more them just a babysitting service compared to other country the wage’s that Childcare Staff are payed here is a joke
Sorry Irene. You are out of line. Irish sick pay arrangements currently represent a massive subsidy to business, and that’s why you and IBEC are bleating about it.
We are also way out of line with other countries in the state provision of child care, by the way. As in every other area of Irish life, we are happy to give welfare to business, but not to the people who need it, such as those already being hammered with mortgages.
Childcare is direly underfunded in this country and what fees services get in only cover the basis. If services have to pay sick pay the cost will only have to be passed onto parents (who are already paying too much). If the government want to get serious about childcare they should have a look at the Scandinavian models where they are funded and supported properly by the government. Childcare professionals are treated very poorly in Ireland and as one of those professionals things will have to improve for the children, families and providers.
Childcare providers are teachers of the early years and should have the same sick leave as primary and secondary school teachers which, if my daughter’s teacher last year was anything to go by, is very adequate!
If this is brought in I am afraid it will put many SME’s like myself to the wall.
Don’t think anyone’s going to be too bothered about the childcare industry taking a hit in their profits.
I’d love too see some books to see where all the money is going. Its a crippling coat on any household. and if the staff are being paid as badly as saffron says where is all the money going? insurance can’t be that expensive, there is no decent child to carer ratio. to me it seems people are seriously lining their pockets. but can every creche in a free market seriously be that full of greed I wonder?
Bilbo, I suspect they can. The tendency in this country seems to be towards price matching (look at the supermarkets). What happened to competitive pricing?
I’m sorry lads but as a manager in a “non profit” community childcare centre once wages (not fantastic), insurance, heating, telephone, rates, rent, heating, programme expenses, buying new toys/ equipment, heating, esb, prsi/ paye/ usc, staff training, waste disposal, our annual maintenance contracts for your fire, security, boilers, esb supply etc………. are paid there is very little left over- trust me as the one who is trying to help ends meet. It’s very easy to pass comment on how expensive childcare is but no one is “lining their pockets”. Childcare workers are usually on minimum wage or there about, and use their own personal “unpaid time” for staff meetings, training etc. Childcare staff usually catch sickness from working with kids (who are sent in sick) so the least they should get is sick pay. The childcare sector in Ireland is so expensive because their is so little support support/ funding from the government. As a parent too I’m all to aware of the cost of childcare and am sickened as a parent and a childhood professional the lack of thought childcare/ families are getting from short sighted government policy. Early years services don’t even get SNA for kids with additional needs but once they hit junior infants they are entitled to one. Lads next time you decide to bash someone or something please make sure your informed about the topic first.
Bilbo, do the sums…take six babies under one year old and two childcare staff to comply (rightly with regulations), now deduct salaries, employers PRSI contribution, rent, rates, electricity, refuse charges, food etc…where is the profit????
Poor salaries is only one of many issues in Ireland. We constantly point to Scandinavian countries when talking about childcare but we fail to say that 60% of staff in those countries hold a degree in early childhood and that the rest are either undertaking training or hold other qualifications. This is in stark contrast to Ireland, where the statutory requirement is that ‘a suitabl and competent adult’ must work with the children…it is time for an open and honest debate about childcare in Ireland
This ridiculous plan will kill off many small business leaving it all open to bigger & bigger corporations to take up the slack…!!!
This shower of Clowns are not serving Irish people they serve the Bondholders, Big Business, Themselves, Advisors and their Cronies…!!!
The Labour party have completely sold out the Irish people, how can their backbenchers put up with this crippling of Irish Small Business knowing they will not be re-elected…!!!
The pay is bad but I think that a lot of childcare providers are struggling to make ends meet too. Why not put some of the stimulus jobs package money into this area, it could improve standards and wages and create some jobs for women as well as helping out struggling families.
I have worked in the early years sector for the past 20years and have seen it move from being pretty much a voluntary workforce to a highly regulated and increasingly qualified and experienced workforce. The vast majority of professionals working in the early years are on minimum wage or there abouts and if you include all the required paperwork and preparation most would come in under minimum wage as they are only paid for contact hours. Higher qualifications are being required and this is a good thing as our little citizens of today and the adults of tomorrow deserve a professional team working with them. All these costs are being absorbed by the individual with little or no additional renumeration on the horizon. There are NO MASSIVE PROFITS in this sector and enforcing employers to pay sick leave will result in closure, job loss, reduced quality and lack of quality childcare provision. The government needs to realise this is a sector in severe crisis
It is my belief that childcare professionals should receive the same entitlements as primary school educators – decent salaries, increments, sick pay, time in lieu for training. A person working in the childcare sector will receive an hourly rate of minimum wage – 15 euro (I would say this is top’s) at the discretion of the childcare service. They are also required to work outside of paid hours to undergo training on a regular basis. Having also worked in the primary sector for a few years, I am aware that teachers receive time in lieu and travel expenses to attend training. Maybe some of the different government agencies who work alongside the childcare sectors and provide training and advice could tackle some of these issues.
Having worked in community based childcare for 7 years, I could count on one hand the number of sick days I have had. The same can be said for the majority of my colleagues. I wouldn’t necessarily agree that childcare staff get sicker more often because they catch everything that the children carry in them. In our facility, staff are paid for sick leave and do not abuse this. Employment rights are in place to protect all workers.
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