Ms Frances Spillane:

Senator Mullen asked about the figure of 195,000 informal carers. This figure is taken from the 2015 census and represents an increase of 4.4% since April 2011. Some 60% of people who said they were carers were female and, as Senator Kelleher pointed out, 3,800 under-15 year olds were recorded as providing care.

Some 6.6 million hours of unpaid care were provided weekly, an average of 38 hours per carer. That represents an increase of 5% since April 2011. The age profile is quite interesting in that over half of all informal carers, nearly 53%, were in the 40 to 59 year old age group, and those in the 50 to 54 year old age group accounted for 15%. There was an increase of 35% in carers aged 85 and over since April 2011. The figure had risen from 1,300 to 1,700, approximately.