Labour demand action for young carers
- Over 67,000 children between 10-17 in Ireland are young carers.
The Labour Party will bring a motion before the Dáil on Thursday 20th March at 5.16pm to demand action for young carers.
Publishing the motion, Labour’s social protection spokesperson Mark Wall TD has called on Government to establish a cross Departmental working group on young carers.
Deputy Wall said:
“Over 67,000 young carers between the ages of 10-17 in Ireland provide regular and ongoing unpaid care and emotional support to a family member due to illness, disability, mental health, and other conditions.
“Being a young carer can have a profound impact on educational outcomes, mental health and life opportunities, yet the voices of these children have been left out of the conversation around care in this country.
“There is no recognition of the unpaid work of young carers in the social protection system, despite the fact that one in four young carers have gone to school or bed hungry because there was not enough food at home.
“On Thursday, the Labour Party will be putting young carers first and foremost in the minds and the eyes of Government, as we will host a session with Family Carers Ireland where young carers will speak about their lived experience before putting our motion on the floor of the Dáil for debate.
“It’s time to shine a light on the young people who carry out so much work at home. Quite often these young people are a hidden population to many teachers, employers, health professionals, government and society.
“These young carers experience poorer emotional health and wellbeing outcomes and report lower life satisfaction compared to their non-caring peers, while more than a third of young carers have reported being bullied at school.
“Our motion aims to address this, as we call for the Ministers in the Department of Education and Youth, and Department of Children, Disability and Equality to recognise their responsibilities to young carers and develop appropriate support programmes.
“We urge cross-party support for these young adults.”