Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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36. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the plans she has to support the thousands of children in the State who are currently acting as carers. [6524/14]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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A large number of children act in some capacity in a caring role. This was evidenced by the results of the Census of Population 2011, where over six thousand children indicated that they provided regular unpaid personal help for a friend or family member with a long-term illness, health problems or disability. Children and young people with caring responsibilities face particular difficulties. They often bear social, educational, emotional and health burdens that are inappropriate for them, and it is important that any responses to support them address such issues.

In 2012 the Department of Health published "The National Carers Strategy – Recognised, Supported, Empowered". The strategy recognises that although the needs of young carers can be similar to carers of any age, they may have additional needs, which include support in education to help them to achieve their full potential. My Department will continue to support the raising of awareness among education and other providers of the signs that children and young people have caring responsibilities and the impact of caring on them. Furthermore, my Department will ensure that the children strategies which are being developed will be as 'carer friendly' as possible.

It is also important that all statutory agencies keep under review the way they respond to such negative impacts. The newly-established Child and Family Agency has a crucial role to play in relation to providing protection to children and assistance and support to families. It is reliant on neighbours, schools, GPs, public health nurses, hospitals and disability services to alert it to instances where there is a concern that a child's welfare may be impacted by the caring responsibilities they carry. If a child's welfare is assessed as being negatively impacted by their caring role, the Child and Family Agency is obliged to provide supports to the child to assist them in that regard. The Child and Family Agency is integrating its three educational welfare service strands based on the principle of "One Child, One Team, One Plan". This reform will enable the Agency to better respond to the circumstances in which children and families need its assistance.

In preparation for the establishment of the Agency, child care staff were alerted to the Carers Strategy and its relevance to children with carer responsibilities. The Strategy was disseminated to key children and family services staff, and linkages between carer responsibilities and child protection issues were also highlighted.