Paul Murphy: Urges State to Recognise Young Carers' Rights
Paul Murphy spoke in support of a Labour Party motion on young carers, arguing the state must stop offloading care onto families and properly recognise carers with meaningful income and services. He welcomed that the government did not oppose the motion but warned that not opposing is not the same as implementing its measures.
Paul Murphy thanked the Labour Party for bringing the motion and acknowledged Family Carers Ireland and young carers who campaigned. He welcomed the fact the government is not opposing the motion but warned there is a big gap between not opposing and actually implementing what is passed.
Paul Murphy criticised restrictive rules covering carers allowance and other income supports that, he said, prevent young adult carers from going to college or taking up training or job opportunities. He argued the entire system of means testing should be removed and that all carers - including young carers - should be entitled as a right to the equivalent of a living wage.
Paul Murphy highlighted that the social protection system effectively refuses to recognise well over 67,000 young carers aged between 10 and 17. He described it as striking and shameful that one in four young carers have gone to bed or to school hungry, linking this directly to the failings of current policy.
Paul Murphy said the problems reflect a deeper need for a transformation in the mindset and approach to care in society - the default must not be to leave care to families or to outsource responsibility. He argued the state should go beyond minimal funding and respite and provide services as a right rather than offloading responsibility onto carers and private families.
Motion and government response
Paul Murphy thanked the Labour Party for bringing the motion and acknowledged Family Carers Ireland and young carers who campaigned. He welcomed the fact the government is not opposing the motion but warned there is a big gap between not opposing and actually implementing what is passed.
Income supports and means testing
Paul Murphy criticised restrictive rules covering carers allowance and other income supports that, he said, prevent young adult carers from going to college or taking up training or job opportunities. He argued the entire system of means testing should be removed and that all carers - including young carers - should be entitled as a right to the equivalent of a living wage.
Evidence of hardship
Paul Murphy highlighted that the social protection system effectively refuses to recognise well over 67,000 young carers aged between 10 and 17. He described it as striking and shameful that one in four young carers have gone to bed or to school hungry, linking this directly to the failings of current policy.
Systemic change in care provision
Paul Murphy said the problems reflect a deeper need for a transformation in the mindset and approach to care in society - the default must not be to leave care to families or to outsource responsibility. He argued the state should go beyond minimal funding and respite and provide services as a right rather than offloading responsibility onto carers and private families.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
Other speeches
Tego samego dnia All speeches from this day →
Rose Conway-Walsh
Rose Conway-Walsh warns US tariffs threaten whisky and jobs
Victor Boyhan
Victor Boyhan urges expanded support for Irish in Britain
Victor Boyhan
Victor Boyhan urges JFK flag display and rural housing debate
Michael Fitzmaurice
Michael Fitzmaurice: Challenges Means Test and Demands Carer Support
Michael Collins
Michael Collins warns on defence spending and neutrality
Brendan Smith
Brendan Smith urges urgent action on national drugs crisis
Transcript
a lot chair and thanks a lot to the labour party for bringing forward this motion and for family carers ireland excuse me and the young carers who have campaigned around us and like deputy stanley said i welcome the fact that the government is not opposing the motion but i definitely warn family carers ireland young carers watching this that there is a big gap between not opposing a motion and actually implementing what is passed in the motion if the last government even had just implemented 50 of what was passed in this doll we would be in a much much better place as a country than we than we are so the pressure needs to be kept up because really what is outlined in the motion is the very bare minimum that the state should be doing to support young carers it is nothing short of outrageous that the rules covering carers allowance and other income supports are still so restrictive that they prevent young adult carers from going to college or taking up training or job opportunities so these are people as has been mentioned effectively doing free labour for the state out of love for mostly a family member and then being punished from that being prevented from being able to kind of continue their life alongside the care that they're providing the entire system of means testing for carers payments needs to go all carers including young carers should be entitled as a right to the equivalent of a living wage that would recognize in a real material impactful way the incredibly important work that they do and the vast amount of money that is saved by the state as a consequence of that work it is striking it is shameful that one in four young carers have gone to bed or to school hungry i mean that's a direct result of the social protection system refusing effectively to recognize the existence of well over 67 000 young carers aged between 10 and 17. i would say that kind of underlying this issue underlying the horrendous kind of forgotten way that young carers are treated is the need for a transformation in the whole mindset and approach towards care in our society um and this again and again reflect itself in debates that we have here in terms of um how carers are treated but also how services are provided for disabled people how supports are provided for older people how provision is made for children with additional needs again and again and again effectively the kind of default position of the state is to say that this is on the family in one way or another and that it's on the family it's on young carers it's on children to provide all the care that people need and that is not that should not be the default position the onus should be on at the state and effectively that was the crux of the uh yes no referendum campaign last year and it's at the heart of why the state is failing carers and children with additional needs so badly and i think you know any idea that the role of the state should only be to provide funding and respite and like obviously that is the bare minimum the fact that we have to talk and campaign for respite for children effectively but it must be much more than that you know the idea that fundamentally we leave care in the hands of carers private individuals in the family home and okay we we compel you we force you hopefully to give something in terms of money in terms of respite and it needs to be much more than that and the state shouldn't be able to just offload its responsibility onto somebody onto anybody else rather than providing services that should be provided as a as a right and this you know you go from the very foundation of the state effectively in terms of the role of the church and so on and this the state never just provided the kind of basic public services that were provided in other european states instead outsourcing on the one hand to the church in various forms and on the other hand should kind of passing off responsibility onto the family and that gets to the heart of like why we debate these issues again and again and again and why carers and young carers in particular are failed so badly thanks