Mariaam Bhatti is one of the co-founders of The Great Care Co-op and she says that carers have traditionally not received the recognition they deserve. “Carers provide such valuable work, yet they are almost invisible,” she says. Her group is changing that.
“Historically it was always seen as work that was done by women, but that’s not supposed to be paid for. We just see them as doing very low work, but it’s essential work as Covid has shown us,” she says.
The Great Care Co-op, based in Dun Laoghaire, was founded in 2017 as a response to those in the sector not being valued. It is a non-profit social enterprise that describes its mission as being “To provide great care and great jobs”.
“After many years of a group of us campaigning for better working conditions for domestic workers, for carers, we felt that there were still so many issues, so we thought that maybe we should set something up which could be an example of an ideal workplace.
“And also something that could provide great care in a way that has not really been seen before,” says Mariaam.
• Mariaam-Bhatti.
Initially there was no financial backing, just idealism, but a lot of progress has been made since, both for workers and those receiving care.
“We started with no funding, with just a big idea and were motivated by wanting to see a better world. We got funding from Rethink Ireland, under the equality banner and it has made a huge difference.
“Instead of carers running across the county from Finglas to Dun Laoghaire to provide 30 minutes of care, how about we set up hubs where people can work locally and they can be paid well, get benefits such as pensions; sustainable jobs basically.”
Since the start the goal has been to provide very good care and very good employment. “We care about positive ageing, sustainable societies. We also care about workers being able to progress in accessing decent work,” says Mariaam.
The Dormant Accounts Fund Annual Report 2024 praised the model pursued by The Great Care Co-op, which it said is good for carers and those receiving care:
“GCC’s model brings carers into leadership and decision-making roles. It reinvests all profits in employee pay, pensions, and training, which directly improves the quality of elderly care. The co-operative’s innovative governance model ensures that care workers participate in key decision-making processes, instilling a sense of ownership and accountability that is rare in the sector,” stated the report.
“This ultimately means that a much higher level of care is delivered to those people who use its services.
“GCC delivers a localised service that gives greater continuity of care to service users while also delivering greater job satisfaction for the care workers.
“Altogether this enhances the quality of care delivered, a circular model that is beautifully simple and effective.
“By reinvesting in its employees and prioritizing a worker-led approach, GCC is proving that ethical employment practices result in better quality care and improved working conditions for those in the sector,” the report concluded.
At the moment there are 43 people working in The Great Care Co-op. Everyone starts off as an employee, but after six months they transition to being a worker/owner of the co-operative.
Currently it serves the Dublin South and Bray areas, but there are ambitions to scale it up to serve a far larger section of the country.
While there is nothing similar to it in Ireland, it is modelled on a similar co-operative in the Bronx, and a social enterprise in existence in the Netherlands.
• Watch out for Great Care Co-op teams of carers around their hubs in Bray, Shankill, Dalkey, Dun Laoghaire, Blackrock and Dublin 4.
Anyone looking for a carer can contact The Great Care Co-Op directly via phone or email, while it is also accredited to provide HSE-funded care.
The ESRI recently predicted that the number of long-term residential care beds and home support hours needed by the older population will increase by at least 60% within 15 years, meaning the type of services provided by The Great Care Co-op will be in more and more demand.
Of interest, the Dormant Accounts Fund annual report for 2024 details how expenditure on Dormant Accounts measures over the year amounted to €44.8 million across 12 government departments. It is available at:
https://assets.gov.ie/static/documents/Appendix_3_DAF_Annual_Report_2024.pdf
