Ms Clare Duffy:

I am so pleased that Professor Lynch raised this matter because there is a major issue with the enumeration of carers in the census. It is question No. 22 in the form. To give an idea, the census of population 2016 enumerated 195,000 family carers, or 4% of the population. By comparison, another study undertaken by the CSO, the Irish health survey, enumerated just under 13% of people as carers, which, when extrapolated to the national population, is about 500,000 people. It has led us to a position we do not want to be in, on in which we cannot rely on census data.

Going back specifically to young carers, the same question in the census, No. 22, also enumerates young carers. It has been included since 2011. In 2016, it enumerated 4,700 young carers, which is fewer than the previous census. By comparison, the health behaviour in school-aged children survey, which is undertaken among students aged between 11 and 17 in schools across Ireland and funded by the Department of Health and World Health Organization, showed that 13% of children in schools identified as being a young carer. That does not mean everyone of those children was vulnerable. Much caring can be a positive experience but at the other end of the spectrum, some of the young carers will be vulnerable. Again, extrapolating that to the national population indicates we could have 67,000 young people aged between 11 and 17 who provide care. In contrast, according to the census, there are fewer than 5,000 carers aged under 18 in the entire population. We definitely have an issue with the wording of the question, which asks if a person provides unpaid personal care. If I am getting carer's allowance or I am just helping mum rather than providing personal care or intimate care, I will not tick that box. There are problems and I am glad they have been flagged.