Government must recognise and support young carers - The Labour Party
Sarah aged 15 and her brother Benjamin aged 12 both help care for their sister who has Down Syndrome. Sarah describes her sister as “the brightest light in my life, full of joy and love. Caring for her comes with responsibility, but it has also shaped me into the person I am today.”
Lucy, another young carer, is 14 and helps care for her brother, mam and dad. Lucy describes having to grow up faster than her friends because of her caring responsibilities. At only 14 caring is her priority, not school even though she gets good grades.
Conor is 20 and helps care for his brother who has 22q11 deletion syndrome – a condition which causes developmental difficulties. While like Sarah, Benjamin and Lucy, Conor is not his brother’s primary carer, he plays a very active role in providing care. Conor looks after his brother for a few hours or the odd day, but this can impact his college study. For many of these young carers, they are often faced with the question as to whether they should be at home helping more, or whether they can go to college. One young carer I spoke with is in secondary school and is already finding it difficult to juggle schoolwork and caring. They hope to study nursing after finishing school, but unlike their peers this young carer worries about whether they will have the time to study for their Leaving Cert, will they be able to afford college or will they be able to move away from home to study.
There are around 67,000 young carers aged between 10-17 in Ireland. This was according to a study back in 2018, so that figure is likely to be much higher now. Quite often, these young carers are a hidden population to many teachers, employers, health professionals, government and society. They are the child falling asleep in the class because they were helping their mam or dad with a sibling with additional needs, or the young adult who failed a college exam because there’s no quiet place to study at home.
From hearing Sarah, Benjamin, Lucy and Conor’s story it’s clear that being a young carer can have a profound impact on their educational outcomes, but even on mental health and life opportunities. There isn’t a question about whether they would continue to provide care, of course they would, but providing care can have a significant impact on young people. Young carers report poorer emotional health and wellbeing outcomes and lower life satisfaction compared to their non-caring peers. More than one third have reported being bullied at school and one in four young carers have gone to school or bed hungry because there was not enough food at home.
Despite the vital role that young carers play, there are no dedicated government programmes to support the specific needs of these young people. Our social protection system doesn’t recognise the unpaid work of young carers as the rules covering Carer’s Allowance and other income supports can act as a barrier for these young people accessing or continuing in further and higher education, training or employment. There isn’t even a mention of these young carers in the Programme for Government.
The Labour Party brought forward a motion last week in the Dáil to address these issues, as we call for the Ministers in the Department of Education and Youth, and the Department of Children, Disability and Equality to recognise their responsibilities to young carers and develop a comprehensive strategy to address the needs of young carers. The Labour Party motion put young carers first and foremost in the minds of Government.
It’s time to shine a light on the young people who carry out so much work at home.
– Mark Wall TD