Activities of Frances FITZGERALD related to 2021/2253(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Common European action on care (debate)
Amendments (80)
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 a (new)
Citation 7 a (new)
— having regard to the UN Decade on Healthy Ageing 2021-2030 and the WHO Framework for countries to achieve an integrated continuum of long-term care,
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 23 a (new)
Citation 23 a (new)
— having regard to the 2021 Long- term care report prepared by the Social Protection Committee (SPC) and the European Commission (DG EMPL) on “Trends, challenges and opportunities in an ageing society”,
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 35 a (new)
Citation 35 a (new)
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 35 b (new)
Citation 35 b (new)
— having regard to the report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) entitled ‘The Employment Generation Impact of Meeting SDG Targets in Early Childhood Care, Education, Health and Long-Term Care in 45 Countries’, published on 19 December 2019,
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 38 a (new)
Citation 38 a (new)
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 38 b (new)
Citation 38 b (new)
— having regard to Directive (EU) 2022/431of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2022 amending Directive 2004/37/EC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens or mutagens at work,
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas care encompasses services to addresspersons in need of care and support are persons who are challenged in their activities of daily living by a disability or chronic health condition; whereas care encompasses services to support the autonomy and independence of persons in need for care, and by supporting their physical, psychological and social needs of dependents, as well as support to guaranteeing the equal exercise of their rights, dignity, autonomy, inclusion and well-being for all members of society;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas care encompasses services to address the physical, psychological and social needs of dependents, as well as support to guarantee the equal exercise of rights, dignity, autonomy, inclusion and well-being for all members of society, provided by either formal or informal carers;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas silent age discrimination and unmet, unseen and unrecognized care needs are still a persisting problem in care in Europe;
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the existing challenges in terms of access to formal care services and the staff shortages in the care sector, as well as the burden and lack of support to informal carers, and whereas across the EU, more than half of COVID-19 related fatalities have been recorded in long-term care settings;
Amendment 219 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the provision of quality care depends on the existence of a sufficiently large and well-trained workforce, the creation of attractive and decent working conditions and integrated services, and adequate funding;
Amendment 230 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas the care sector needs significant investment, resources and reform, especially in elderly care;
Amendment 234 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the structures of care need to be changed from centralised institutions to community-based care; whereas that shift has been too slow; whereas patient- centred, community-based and home care can better support the autonomy of persons in need for care and support; whereas residential care often does not meet the standards of supporting independence of persons using these services and are often associated with the end of life, rather than regarded as places to live and strive in dignity, and places of participation in social and cultural life;
Amendment 239 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the structures of care need to be changed from centralised institutions to community-based careand live-in home care to support the independence and autonomy of individuals at all stages throughout their lives; whereas that shift has been too slow;
Amendment 256 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas the proportion of undeclared work in the care sector remains too high, leading to fewer protections for workers in the sector, and a loss of income for member states;
Amendment 272 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
Amendment 276 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
Ha. whereas quality care work is a skilled occupation, and demand for skilled care workers will only increase in the coming years;
Amendment 277 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H b (new)
Recital H b (new)
Amendment 278 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H c (new)
Recital H c (new)
Hc. whereas the European Commission estimates that 8 million new jobs can be created in the EU in the care sector by 20301a; _________________ 1a European Commission, 2021, Green Paper on Ageing;
Amendment 279 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H d (new)
Recital H d (new)
Hd. whereas the proportion of undeclared work in the care sector remains too high, leading to fewer protections for workers in the sector, and a loss of income for Member States;
Amendment 280 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H e (new)
Recital H e (new)
He. whereas quality care work is a skilled occupation, requiring training and experience; whereas employment and ongoing training in the workplace through professionalisation of the sector can contribute to an increased quality of provision of care services;
Amendment 285 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas 6.3 million professionals work in long-term care, among whom women (81 %) are overrepresented and there are increasing numbers of platform workers, as well as migrant and mobile workers; whereas 8 million new jobs are expected to be created over the next decade in both the social care and healthcare sectors;
Amendment 295 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
Ia. whereas the care sector in the EU still relies heavily on migrant workers both within and outside the Union, and there are still obstacles hampering the free movement of care workers within the EU;
Amendment 296 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
Ia. whereas 7.7 million women in the EU remain out of the labour market due to their care responsibilities;
Amendment 311 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas 80 % of all long-term care in Europe is provided by informal carers, overwhelmingly women, mostly unpaid and/or without adequate support, and often with a negative impact on their physical and mental health, well-being and social inclusion, with women providing approximately two-thirds of care, which makes care an extremely gendered issue;
Amendment 344 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L a (new)
Recital L a (new)
La. whereas the gender pay gap in the EU stands at 14.1% and has only changed minimally over the last decade and the gender pension gap is even wider;
Amendment 345 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L b (new)
Recital L b (new)
Lb. whereas gender employment, pay and pension gaps lead to an increased risk of poverty as well as reduced taxes paid to Member States, with a €370 billion annual loss of GDP for Europe;
Amendment 346 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L c (new)
Recital L c (new)
Lc. whereas strong sectoral segregation, unequal share of paid and unpaid work, the glass ceiling and pay discrimination still persist in the EU labour market and equal pay for equal work has not been fulfilled and these serious structural issues have been neglected by all the EU Member States;
Amendment 357 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M a (new)
Recital M a (new)
Ma. whereas underpaid or non-paid women take care of other women, whereas women live longer than men and represent the majority of the people receiving care, both in formal care institutions and in private homes;
Amendment 396 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P a (new)
Recital P a (new)
Pa. whereas the European Union can complement and support Member State action in improving care services, for those who are cared for and those who provide care;
Amendment 438 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Notes that according to the principle 18 in the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) ‘Everyone has the right to affordable long-term care services of good quality, in particular home-care and community-based services’; notes that expanding the care workforce and increasing the provision of care services will be a prerequisite for fulfilling this principle;
Amendment 444 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Notes that care services are of varying types -- from early childhood care and education, to care services for elderly and care for persons with disabilities --, and notes that care and its differing policy approaches need to be developed and recreated according to individuals’ needs;
Amendment 475 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Highlights the need to increase fsecure the sound ing for bothvestment level in the care infrastructure across the EU, both public and private, formal and informal care across the EU, to guarantee equal access for dependants to affordable quality care services, as well as an active professional life for carers, and therefore calls on the Member States to make the best use of the European structural and investment funds, including the ESF+, as well as the Recovery and Resilience Facility, for investing in care;
Amendment 477 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Highlights the need to increase funding for both formal and informal care across the EU to guarantee equal access for dependantspersons in need of care to affordable quality care services, as well as an active and fulfilling professional life for carers, and therefore calls on the Member States to make the best use of the European structural and investment funds, including the ESF+, as well as the Recovery and Resilience Facility, for investing in care;
Amendment 482 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Recognises that models and patterns of organising care are diverse in the Member States and believes that every person has the right to choose quality care services best suitable for their and their family’s individual situation, emphasizes that this right needs to be guaranteed;
Amendment 491 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Emphasises that a substantial proportion of care models, services and facilities are outdated and that care recipients should be placed at the centre of care plan, below the modern quality criteria and does not meet the physical, social and psychological needs and wishes of the people in need of care, and that people in need of care should be placed at the centre of care plans and all stages of the design, implementation and evaluation of care policies and services;
Amendment 501 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Amendment 504 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Believes that the development of care should take into account all categories of users and their differences and diverse preferences for the types of care services needed; underlines the importance of user-based approach in developing services and the empowerment of different types of service users so that their different needs and preferences are the default in tailoring personal service packages, including social budgeting;
Amendment 505 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4c. Believes that those planning, programming and providing care services have the responsibility to be aware of the users’ needs and that care services for elderly and persons with disabilities must be planned and developed with the participation of the users;
Amendment 516 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Commission to set ambitious targets for care services in consultation with the Member States; and to develop harmonized EU and national definitions and indicators to assess accessibility, quality and efficiency of care services for children, persons with disabilities and elderly on the EU level, that are based on the rights of the persons in need for care, the maintenance of their independence and autonomy as well as social inclusion, and focussing on the expected outcomes of long-term care, such as the improvement of well-being of persons in need for long-term care and support, the evolution of healthy life years and other indicators putting entire care experience of a person in need for care in the centre of attention; underlines the need for scoreboard to monitor the implementation of care in public, private, formal and informal context;
Amendment 543 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the Commission to present an ambitious, robust and future-proof European care strategy that builds on everyone’s right to affordable, accessible and high-quality care, as well as on other principles set out in the EPSR and EU strategic documents, and the individual rights and needs of both care recipients and carers, and that encompasses the entire life course, is based on reliable and comparable data, and includes concrete and progressive goals with a timetable and indicators to evaluate progress;
Amendment 604 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Amendment 612 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls on the Member States to reform and integrate their social services and protection systems in such a way as to provide effective and equal access to care services throughout the life course, taking a personalised and patient-centered approach, in order to enhance access to care, the continuity of care, preventive healthcare, rehabilitation and, whenever possible, independent living and inclusion in the community;
Amendment 621 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Calls on the Member States to incentivise declared work by supporting personal household services, and other alternative employment models for home care services such as households as direct employers or intermediaries;
Amendment 632 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Notes that accessibility derives from a combination of cost and flexibility; believes that in this respect different forms of care service provision should be available, such as in in-home and community-based settings; recognises the importance of personal and household service providers, including live-in carers, in this regard; consequently calls on Member States to invest in the professionalisation of the sector;
Amendment 633 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Notes that accessibility derives from a combination of cost and flexibility; believes that in this respect different forms of care service provision should be available, such as in in-home and community-based settings, both public and private, care at home and in home-like settings, and that furthermore a family member should either be able to voluntarily provide care or be subsidised to procure the care services;
Amendment 638 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Highlights the need to support the development of online services, the training to increase digital competencies of the cared and their carers, and improving of internet access and connections to improve the quality of care and to benefit from technology in offering quality care in all stages of life; notes that health technology can be the biggest unequalizer or connector depending on its genuine accessibility;
Amendment 643 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13b. Calls on the Member States to explore the possibility of integrating in their social protection systems solutions that allow a more personalised approach;
Amendment 644 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 c (new)
Paragraph 13 c (new)
13c. Notes that the populations benefitting from long-term care go beyond the elderly and include people living with rare diseases for whom care is provided throughout all lifecycles, with a majority of rare diseases having their onset during childhood;
Amendment 660 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Emphasises that care services, particularly live-in care services, are often provided on a cross-border basis; Stresses that the free movement of persons and workers is one of the key pillars of the EU, but that challenges to cross-border care remain; calls for the protection of the social security rights of all mobile care workers and care receiversfurther notes that without barrier- free cross-border provision of care services, it will not be possible to meet the growing demand for carers; calls for the protection of the social security rights of all mobile care workers and care receivers; calls on the European Commission to ensure that existing barriers to free movement in the sector should be lifted;
Amendment 708 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Calls on the Commission to establish a comprehensive set of indicators for long-term care, and corresponding targets and tools for monitoring the accessibility, affordability and quality of care, especially taking into account vulnerable groups such as the elderly and people with disabilities, similar to the Barcelona objectives for childcare;
Amendment 711 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Calls on the Commission to establish a comprehensive set of indicators for long-term care, including for those with disabilities and older persons, and corresponding targets and tools for monitoring the accessibility, affordability and quality of care, similar to the Barcelona objectives for childcare;
Amendment 719 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Calls on the Commission to form a platform and to call up a summit of experts, social partners, interest groups, patient organisations, carers organisations and care recipients and their representatives to discuss and develop community-based care fit for 2030;
Amendment 732 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
18b. Calls on the Commission to start an initiative on environmentally sustainable care and pay attention and support green care projects and greening of care overall;
Amendment 735 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 c (new)
Paragraph 18 c (new)
18c. Notes that care infrastructures have also significant negative environmental impacts that need to be solved and mitigated, for example pharmaceuticals and exceptionally big amounts of disposable waste;
Amendment 749 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Notes that between 40 and 50throughout the EU, 44 million people in the EUare provideing informal care on a regular basislong-term care at least once a week; notes that this work tends to be long term and can hinder formal labour market participation, resulting in a loss of income and aggravating the gender pay and pension gap;
Amendment 752 #
19a. Notes that informal care is an extremely gendered issue as women are overrepresented in providing informal care activities, making up around 60% of informal carers, and providing informal care for more hours than men;
Amendment 756 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Calls on the Member States and relevant authorities to recognise the pivotal role of informal carers and to integrate them into regular health and care teams;
Amendment 758 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)
Paragraph 19 b (new)
19b. Notes that of elderly people aged more than 65, 8% or more than 7 million people receive informal care in the EU; for people aged 75 and above, the number relying on informal care amounts to 11%;
Amendment 760 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 c (new)
Paragraph 19 c (new)
19 c. Notes that at least 8% of all children in Europe are involved in the provision of informal long-term care, with a negative impact on their physical and mental health, educational experience, employability and social inclusion;
Amendment 763 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 d (new)
Paragraph 19 d (new)
19d. Stresses that informal carers must have their needs assessed and addressed in their own right, without being conditional on the services or supports of the cared-for person;
Amendment 769 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Highlights the need forto develop a common European minimum definition for informal care, a commitment by Member States, and Council Recommendations on informal care including national recommendations, including respect for the right to self- determination of persons receiving care;
Amendment 774 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Calls for common European guidelines and status for informal carers as informal care is currently not adequately recognized and acknowledged in terms of different forms of informal care;
Amendment 784 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Urges the Commission to propose a common coherent package of actions at EU level on informal care, to identify and recognise the different types of informal care provided in Europe, and to guaranteeto consider the formalisation of informal care, and to guarantee a certain minimum standard of rights, carers financial support and other additional support services, including time off for carers, and a work-life balance and, rehabilitation services for carers and care recipients and access to specific psychological support for carers;
Amendment 791 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Amendment 797 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Urges the Commission and the Member States to support civil society organisations supporting and representing informal carers, in order for these organisations to bring their perspective and contribute to the design, implementation and evaluation of policies concerning informal care;
Amendment 828 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Calls on the Member States to increase investments in care services and their quality, and in special measures that allow carers to maintain an active professional life;
Amendment 833 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 b (new)
Paragraph 22 b (new)
22b. Encourages the Member States to reflect periods spent on care responsibilities in pension schemes, with a view to reducing and eventually closing the gender pension gap;
Amendment 836 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Calls on the Member States to ensure decent working conditions for all workers in the care sector, both formal and informal, and to adopt high standards of occupational health and safety, in line with and beyond the ambition of the recently adopted EU strategic framework on health and safety at work 2021-2027; stresses the importance of fully respecting the Working Time Directive in particular for those who are providing live-in care, as well as reasonable accommodation provided for the carer and vigilance for additional broader job descriptions that go beyond the role of a carer;
Amendment 850 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. 23a new. recalls, in this context, the fourth revision of Directive 2004/37/EC and the inclusion of work involving exposure to hazardous medicinal products meeting the criteria for classification as carcinogenic, mutagenic and/or toxic for reproduction category 1A or 1B as defined in Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008, in order to ensure the best possible general and individual protection measures for workers handling these products;
Amendment 970 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28a. Notes that there is a need to recognize and value care also economically in European economies, budgeting and statistics;
Amendment 971 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 b (new)
Paragraph 28 b (new)
28b. Stresses the impact of green environments, daily access to different forms of nature and outdoors in good quality living conditions of people needing care, notes that studies show that access to nature has substantial benefits for both physical and mental health of all people, especially those needing care, and highlights the need to facilitate access to nature and outdoors for people dependent on care as well as to support nature-based solutions in the care sector;
Amendment 995 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)
Paragraph 30 a (new)
30a. Calls on the Member States to increase investments and invest EU funds in care services and their quality, including the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the EU4Health Programme and the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF), in care infrastructure and facilitate accessible and affordable services for all;
Amendment 998 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 b (new)
Paragraph 30 b (new)
30b. Calls on the Commission to strengthen the provision of funding for all types of care services through the European Social Fund+ and other financial instruments, which aim to fund social infrastructure;
Amendment 999 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 c (new)
Paragraph 30 c (new)
30 c. Calls on the European Commission to secure funding for research projects on the social impact of rare diseases, from a patient-perspective, and to EU-wide networks and innovative projects that allow Member States to co- create and transfer good practices and innovative care models;
Amendment 1002 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 d (new)
Paragraph 30 d (new)
30d. Calls for a European framework to strategically upskill and reskill workers and to formally recognise carers’ skills through a certification process;
Amendment 1003 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 e (new)
Paragraph 30 e (new)
Amendment 1004 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 f (new)
Paragraph 30 f (new)
30f. Calls on the Commission to set up a European Expert Group on Care, bringing together public authorities, European NGOs representing people who draw on care, service providers, as well as other stakeholders, such as researchers, to create innovative care solutions, to ensure future-proof care systems and to phase out institutionalized care and replace it with community-based or home-based care and/or use of personalized budgets and personalised design of care;
Amendment 1005 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Calls on the Member States to formulate and revise their care policies in permanent dialogue with social partners, experts, civil society and representative organisations of care recipients and carers; and to encourage civil dialogue between civil society NGOs and public authorities at national and EU level to support in creating effective social care policy solutions which fit the needs of the people on the ground;
Amendment 1020 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 a (new)
Paragraph 32 a (new)
32a. Calls for an external scientific and ethical evaluation on the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in the care sector, on the actions of the European Union as a whole as well as on the actions of the Member States, and for an evaluation on the level of preparedness that the EU now has for pandemics;