Richard Boyd Barrett: Shock at 67,000 Young Carers, Calls Action
Richard Boyd Barrett spoke in support of a motion on young carers brought by Deputy Wall and the Labour Party and urged the Government to do more than merely refrain from opposing it. He highlighted that 67 000 young carers aged 10 to 17 are providing unpaid care and called for the immediate abolition of the carers means test and stronger measures on carers' income poverty and mental-health impacts.
He commended Family Carers Ireland and the young carers who raised the issue, apologised for missing their briefing, and thanked Deputy Wall and the Labour Party for tabling the motion.
He said there are 67 000 young carers between the ages of 10 and 17 caring for parents and siblings with disability or chronic illness, carrying out tasks such as washing, cleaning and feeding. He referenced work by CSRI and findings according to the ESRI that young carers are six times more likely to suffer symptoms of depression and that caring can significantly affect Leaving Cert results and increase the likelihood of poverty and financial distress.
He urged the Government to take the motion seriously, go beyond merely not opposing it and take concrete action. He called for the immediate abolition of the carers means test and for targeted measures to address the income poverty experienced by carers, stressing a greater obligation to children and young people who provide care.
He highlighted the economic value of unpaid care, citing estimated savings of about 20 billion a year - nearly the entire health budget - and warned that without unpaid carers the State would effectively need to double health spending.
He expressed full support for Family Carers Ireland and the young carers, praised the work that brought the issue to attention and urged the Government to listen and act on the motion.
Commendations and missed briefing
He commended Family Carers Ireland and the young carers who raised the issue, apologised for missing their briefing, and thanked Deputy Wall and the Labour Party for tabling the motion.
Scale and consequences of young caring
He said there are 67 000 young carers between the ages of 10 and 17 caring for parents and siblings with disability or chronic illness, carrying out tasks such as washing, cleaning and feeding. He referenced work by CSRI and findings according to the ESRI that young carers are six times more likely to suffer symptoms of depression and that caring can significantly affect Leaving Cert results and increase the likelihood of poverty and financial distress.
Policy demands and obligations
He urged the Government to take the motion seriously, go beyond merely not opposing it and take concrete action. He called for the immediate abolition of the carers means test and for targeted measures to address the income poverty experienced by carers, stressing a greater obligation to children and young people who provide care.
Economic value of unpaid carers
He highlighted the economic value of unpaid care, citing estimated savings of about 20 billion a year - nearly the entire health budget - and warned that without unpaid carers the State would effectively need to double health spending.
Support and call to government action
He expressed full support for Family Carers Ireland and the young carers, praised the work that brought the issue to attention and urged the Government to listen and act on the motion.
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
Sharon Keogan
Sharon Keogan says CAT thresholds discriminate against childless
Carol Nolan
Carol Nolan: 932 waiting for home care in CHO Area 8
Michael Collins
Michael Collins presses for solutions to driving test backlog
Paul Murphy
Paul Murphy Demands Clarity on Triple Lock Mandate
Paul Murphy
Paul Murphy: Urges State to Recognise Young Carers' Rights
Transcript
Yeah, thanks to Deputy Wall and to the Labour Party for bringing forward this important motion and can I also commend Family Carers Ireland and all the young carers who have brought this issue to our attention and to say that we fully support the motion and I know the Government are not opposing it but hope that they're going to do more than just not oppose it and take seriously this motion which I assume has been drawn up in consultation with Family Carers Ireland and with the young carers themselves so you are hearing and can I apologise I wasn't at your briefing today I was just out the door with meetings and whatnot but and I have to say I'm not an expert in this area I've come across a lot of the issues to do with carers but I'm staggered as I was reading into this and I know CSRI have done a very lengthy paper on the whole issue which is detailing a lot of the facts and figures and issues confronting young carers but I am really staggered by the bare bones of it that we have 67 000 young carers between the ages of 10 and 17. I mean that is absolutely stunning looking after parents and siblings with disability with chronic illness when their children at a time when they need to develop and have a life and be educated have a social life it should be the beginning of a life flourishing and because of love and care and concern for their loved ones they find themselves caring washing people cleaning up feeding people looking after them and that then impacting disproportionately six times more likely those young people to suffer the symptoms of depression significantly impacting on their results in the leaving cert according to the ESRI making more likely they will suffer from things like poverty and financial distress unhappiness and so on because they are engaged in an act of love and care for their loved ones and doing all of society a favor so I seriously hope because I've learned from just reading into this and from reading the motion about the huge service these young people are doing to our society and to tens of thousands of people who need help and care that the government are listening and are going to do absolutely everything and they should of course immediately abolish the carers means test and do a lot more in terms of the income poverty that carers suffer in general but they have an even greater obligation to young people and children given the role they are playing in providing this care I mean the sheer economics of it is obvious although we shouldn't even have to put it in these terms but the savings from carers are about 20 billion a year that's nearly the entire health budget right so these young people and other carers weren't providing the care they did we'd have to double the health budget pretty much that's the service they are doing for our society so it is be uh it it's behold on the government uh to listen to what these young carers are saying but you absolutely have our support uh for all your efforts and well done for bringing this to our attention thank you deputy boy