10,700 people providing unpaid care in Donegal including 139 children, says Pringle
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00:00In Donegal there are almost 10,700 unpaid carers, which is 6% of our county's population.
00:07There are 139 carers under 15 years of age providing regular unpaid care in the county
00:13and 60% of all carers in Donegal are female, in line with the national figure. This shows
00:18that females are disproportionately affected by this government's decision to keep the means test.
00:23Shamefully, in the period between 2016 and 2022 saw some significant increases in the hours of
00:29unpaid care provided. The number of carers in Donegal providing 43 or more hours of unpaid help
00:35each week almost doubled from 1,688 in 2016 to 3,324 in 2022. It is clear that this government
00:43has made things worse for carers in this country and in County Donegal family carers save the state
00:48approximately 600 minutes every single year. So what we're asking for today is reasonable
00:55and proportionate and as I said the next government has to commit to it.