This Carers Rights Day (Thursday 21 November), leading charity Carers NI is urging the NI Executive to make carers a clear priority within the forthcoming Programme for Government and to bring forward paid carer's leave in any new employment legislation.

Carers Rights Day is a milestone event for Northern Ireland’s 220,000 carers who help to prop up NI’s struggling health system by providing hundreds of thousands of hours of care each week whilst juggling paid employment, child-rearing and other family duties at the same time.

A new report from Carers UK today comparing trends across Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England shows NI has the highest proportion of unpaid carers of any nation and the highest number of people (nearly 70,000) providing 50 hours or more unpaid care each week. This is drastic increase from 56,000 recorded at the last Census in 2011 and 46,700 as recorded in 2001.

The Valuing Carers 2021/22: the value of unpaid care in the UK report also shows the economic contribution of unpaid carers in NI is £5.8 billion per year. This is a huge hike of 42% in real terms since 2011 and the highest percentage increase among the four nations, equivalent to approximately 85% of the NI Department of Health’s budget for 2021/2022. Meanwhile the combined economic value of unpaid care across the four UK nations is £184.3 billion in 2021/22, a 29.3% increase over the past decade (£119.4 billion in 2011).

Speaking about the report Carers NI Public Affairs and Media Manager Áine Magee said there are several factors contributing to the shift in intensity of care and rising number of carers.

“Unpaid carers play a critical role in the life of the health service in NI and are increasingly stepping in to fill the gaps as services worsen. We all know NI’s population is getting older and on top of that we have a sicker population with the number of people with limiting long-term health conditions or disabilities rising and impacting nearly 1 in 4 residents.

“We also have a major decline in the provision of statutory sector domiciliary care with the number of hours reduced by 23,000 hours since 2011. So, it’s no surprise that we have a major issue with support and rights for carers. What the NI Government needs to do is firstly list carers as a priority within the forthcoming programme for government and secondly, embed stronger employment and social legislative rights to help lift carers out of poverty, keep them supported in employment and help them access timely and equitable supports without having to fight for help every step of the way.”