Zarah ChoudharyNearly a third of unpaid carers in Northern Ireland have had to leave the workforce altogether due to the strains of caring, highlighting the severe financial and employment challenges they face.
The 2024 State of Caring survey, informed by more than 1,200 local carers, revealed that many struggle with poverty-related hardships, including skipping meals, being unable to afford clothes or shoes, and falling into debt.
More than a quarter are struggling to make ends meet, a figure that rises to 44% for those receiving Carer’s Allowance.
Over half are struggling to afford electricity and gas, while 34% cannot afford food, with many reducing meal sizes or going hungry.
Almost a third have resorted to using credit cards, and over half have dipped into their savings in the past year.
The intensity of care provided is significant, with 44% delivering more than 90 hours of care per week.
There are 220,000 unpaid carers in Northern Ireland, nearly 60% of whom are women, and the region has the highest proportion of unpaid carers and those providing 50-plus hours of care in the UK.
Despite saving the public purse £5.8bn annually, unpaid carers receive little financial support.
In summer 2024, Carers NI delivered a petition signed by 1,393 carers to the Communities Minister, calling for a £540 annual Carer’s Allowance Recognition Payment, but the Minister has stated that any budget for this payment would require approval from the NI Executive.
Tracey Henry, a carer from Coleraine who left her job as a teacher to care for her daughter Ellie, said: “I went from a teacher’s salary to being on Universal Credit, only to be told that my Carer’s Allowance will be counted as earnings and deducted from my Universal Credit.
“It feels like you’re being penalised for being a carer and I know that there are thousands of people in the same boat as me.
“The Government has to do something to make life easier for unpaid carers.”
Nikita Ferguson, policy officer at Carers NI, said: “This survey on finances and employment shows once again that carers in Northern Ireland are crying out for help.
“They are struggling with every element of their finances, and they are experiencing terrible poverty.
“At Carers NI we know what would help and that goes from high level visibility in the forthcoming Programme for Government and a brand new carers strategy that replaces the 2006 plan, which is nearly 20 years old.
“On a financial level, carers need stronger levers to help lift them out of poverty. Carer’s Allowance is entirely unfit for purpose, and we need root and branch reform of this system.
“The low value (£81.90 per week) and eligibility criteria of Carer’s Allowance is trapping unpaid carers in poverty and acts as a barrier to meaningful employment.
“Carers need better information, advice and support as they are struggling with a complicated benefits system.
“For those juggling caring with employment, paid carers leave would help enormously and especially for women, older workers, and those who can’t afford to take unpaid time off.
“The introduction of a carer’s recognition payment for those in receipt of Carer’s Allowance would lift thousands out of poverty immediately.”
