Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State has previously indicated that there will be home support services for 53,000 people. Last year the budget was for 52,500 people. At the same time there were between 6,000 and 7,000 people on waiting lists. If the 52,500 is added to the 6,500, some 59,000 people were looking for home support services at any given time, meaning that providing service for 53,000 will not be anywhere near enough to meet existing need. I do not have to tell the Minister of State that. In a survey it was found that the carers of Tipperary provide a staggering 256,120 hours of care per week. This breaks down to an average of 42.1 hours of care per carer per week. These statistics, which are not my own but which have been provided by the Central Statistics Office, only serve to confirm that heroic efforts are being made each and every day of the week by the carers of County Tipperary. The findings also record that 7,041 stated they provide regular unpaid personal help for a friend or family member with a long-term illness, health problem or disability. This figure comprises 4.4% of the county's population in 2016. Of the carers in the county, 4,225, 60%, were female, and 2,816, 40%, were male. What is deeply concerning is the finding that there are 138 carers aged under 15 years. This situation is appalling. The statistics demonstrate the clear need for the Government to prioritise and fully resource carers' needs and to ensure that they are provided with every level of assistance. When a sector of our society is providing more than 250,000 hours of care every week, it is clear that a lot of work badly needs to be done.

See this speech in context