Ms Catherine Cox:

I will answer the Deputy's question about young carers. We have very recent figures on this subject and we know there are 69,000 young carers under the age of 18 in this country, which is a huge figure.

Many of them are not providing primary care for loved ones but are supporting their families, perhaps caring for a sibling, but there are also young carers out there who are primary carers under the age of 18. The Deputy is right: there are very inadequate supports for young carers across the country. Scotland has 22 young carer officers in Glasgow alone. Here we have one and he works with Family Carers Ireland so he is trying to cover the whole country. Early intervention, such as support for these people in schools to allow them to move on to third level education, is so important. Those supports are not there. The survey carried out last year showed that, for example, young carers are more likely to be bullied than other young people their age. They may also miss out on schooling because they have to care at home. It may be difficult for them to study at home if there is caring going on in the family. They can be vulnerable as a result, which is why it is so important the adequate supports are put in place for them.