Over 100 children and young teenagers are carers in Co Kildare

There are over 100 teenagers aged 14 and under acting as carers in Co Kildare.

The statistics for carers in Ireland released by the CSO were exceptional in that, for the first time, they identified 3,800 carers aged 14 and under, with  193 of these  in Co Kildare.

Young carers attended a two day meeting of young carers at the Lilliput Adventure Centre, Mullingar at which Independent MEP Marian Harkin said that, between young and adult, Ireland’s carers represented 6.6 million hours of unpaid work each year, an increase of 5.1% since the 2011 census.

MEP Harkin said:“Carers like you are the glue which helps to hold society together but this has not been recognised by successive governments for the huge contribution you make and the enormous financial saving for the state you represent."

She said:"The recent budget was another opportunity missed by the government to re-dress the lack of support for carers and continued refusal to provide recognition of the saving for the state that their work represented."