Family carers facing acute financial pressure - report
Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
At a glance
News
Official statement
New plan
- A new report highlights severe financial hardship and loneliness among family carers in Ireland.
- 71% of carers struggle to make ends meet, with nearly half cutting back on essentials like food and heating.
- The report calls for increased financial support, better services, and recognition of caregiving as a core health pillar.
Family carers in Ireland are facing acute financial pressure, inadequate services, and significant loneliness, according to the "State of Caring 2026" report commissioned by Family Carers Ireland. The charity, which supports an estimated 624,000 family carers, based its findings on responses from 2,930 carers.
Government must now recognise care at home as a core pillar of health and social care and properly resource it accordingly.
The report reveals that 71% of family carers find it difficult to make ends meet, and almost half (48%) experience severe loneliness. Among those in acute financial distress, 49% are cutting back on essentials such as food and heating. Furthermore, 29% are behind on utility bills, and 15% are falling into arrears with rent or mortgage payments.
Dr. Nikki Dunne, Research Manager at Family Carers Ireland, urged the government to recognize home care as a fundamental part of health and social care. She stressed the need for adequate income for carers and the fulfillment of promises to provide robust services, including accessible counseling, emergency support, and reliable respite care.
It also means ensuring income adequacy for family carers and funding and delivering on its promise to build and fund robust services for family carers under the carer guarantee.
Catherine Rossiter, a family carer for her 12-year-old twins, described the daily emotional, physical, and psychological challenges. She highlighted the disproportionate financial strain caused by the rising cost of living, forcing carers to manage extra bills for heating and home adaptations. "Telling us that we are 'great' for caring for our loved ones does not translate into tangible supports, services, or proper recognition," Rossiter stated, expressing the constant worry about the future of her children should she be unable to continue caring.
Caring for a loved one is emotionally, physically, and psychologically challenging every day.
The report recommends abolishing the carer's allowance means test, increasing payments, making them tax-exempt, and introducing a cost of disability payment. It also calls for extending the fuel allowance to all carer's allowance recipients and providing targeted support.
Recent increases in the cost of living have placed a disproportionate financial pressure on carers.
DistantNews Editorial
Originally published by RTÉ News. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.
More Stories
From Our Blog
What Gets Lost (and Found) When News Is Translated
The Critical Role of Diaspora Media in Global News
What Travellers Should Know About Countries with Restricted Press
A Digital Nomad's Guide to Following Local News
How the Same Story Looks Different in Different Countries
