Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the visitors in the Public Gallery. I also welcome this motion and thank the Deputies who brought it forward.

I thank those carers and their representative organisations who are campaigning for the abolition of the means test for the carer’s payment. They have had a serious impact and have forced the Government into making a commitment. However, we know how much a commitment from this Government is actually worth. For that reason, we will keep the pressure on until this cruel means test is abolished.

We could talk all day about the valuable work done by carers. I remind Deputies that just because they do that work with love, does not mean they should be taken advantage of. Some of that work is being done by children who are not yet of working age. It deserves to be recognised. The impact this work has on a child and his or her development cannot be understated. As well as the work they do - caring for a family member is work, and we should not be shy about saying it - there is a great deal that carers, and young carers in particular, do not do. They miss out on so many of the positive aspects of being a young person. They miss out on education, socialising and having the time to simply be themselves. While they do it willingly, it is work and deserves to be recognised as such.

The motion calls for the putting in place of a range of supports and measures specifically aimed at young carers. That is welcome. I hope the Minister will take the suggestions on board. The issue of returning to education in particular is one which I believe is urgent and pressing. These young people are saving the State a fortune by taking on caring responsibilities, but the impact on their education has to be acknowledged.

Now that the issue of young carers is on the agenda, I take this opportunity to urge the Government to listen to the voices of young carers directly about the impact that combining the work of caring with their ordinary lives is having on them and what they need to be put in place to support them. I have spoken to parents who are absolutely wracked with guilt because they rely on the care given by young family members. They worry that they are not having the childhood they deserve and that they are missing out on activities and fun with their friends. Sometimes, they are forced to miss out on their education. They will say that the lack of support from the State means that the young carer has to grow up too fast and that they effectively will not have a childhood. Young carers make up the shortfall for the State. They deserve to be recognised.

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