Meet Jamie Mooney - just one of the 14,000 young carers in Ireland

One of the joys of childhood is the lack of responsibility, aside from school. Not so for the 4,000 children who are carers. Arlene Harris meets one.

For most young children, the biggest concerns in their daily lives are how much homework they have, how much screen-time they will be allowed and whether or not they will get away with sneaking an extra treat after dinner.

But for thousands of children across the country, their worries are a lot bigger as they face the daily stresses of living with and caring for a sick parent.

There are officially over 14,000 young carers in Ireland and while the newly-formed organisation Family Carers Ireland (FCI) offers support and advice to many, lack of funding means that thousands of others have to carry emotional burdens which are far too heavy for their shoulders.

FCI - an amalgamation of the Carers Association and Caring for Carers - is urging people to be aware of the plight of these young people who are often forced to grow up very quickly.

Jamie Mooney from Shankill in Dublin is 18-years-old. He lives with his parents Sabrina and Michael (both 37) and 9-year-old sister Lexie and helps his Dad in the family pub – The Whiskey Fair.

His mother has Grand Mal Epilepsy and throughout his life, he has learned how to deal with the condition and be on hand to offer help whenever a seizure occurred.

“My mum has had epilepsy for as long as I can remember and I have grown up learning how to deal with seizures,” he says.

“It’s probably always been in my nature to care and I don’t remember having any problems with looking after her but even as a young child my Dad taught me simple stuff such as bringing my mum water and learning how to call for help.

“My help at the start wasn’t much but it grew over the years and as I got a little older, I learned how to put her in the recovery position, call an ambulance and to give her the medication she needed – I needed to know how to deal with different situations as my mother could and did go into a seizure at any time of the day or night.”

Jamie, who won Young Carer of the Year 2015, is very modest about the important role he played in his mothers’ life, but says he couldn’t bear to see his little sister having to care for someone in the same way.

“My mum is convinced that helping to care for her over the years has impacted my life in a major way, but I feel the complete opposite,” he admits.

“Sure I missed out on school days here and there or the odd event and evening out, but because I didn’t’ know any different, I didn’t see it is as something out of the ordinary.

“In fact I wouldn’t have even called myself a carer until I won the award.

Jamie with his family after being named Young Carer of the Year 2015

“Even when I was a teenager I didn’t feel like it was too much of a problem as missing a few occasions wasn’t life changing for me.

“My family say that I had to put up with a lot but I don’t think it affected me much and I didn’t have to have counselling or anything as I have great friends and family around me who have always reassured me that they are there if I ever need them.

“But while I have no bad memories of any incidents, I think of all the things I did when I was nine and would feel very nervous even thinking of my little sister having to do the same.”

As if looking after a sick parent wasn’t enough, the Dublin teenager was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness himself in 2014 – but still remains upbeat and positive about the future.

“When I was 16, I felt a small lump on my chest which was diagnosed as Hodgkin’s Lymphoma,” he says.

“Needless to say hearing that I had cancer of the lymphatic system was a huge shock to everyone –me, my family and my friends.

“But we have a great family bond and everyone was hands-on-deck from the minute I was sick making sure that I was looked after.

“I started chemotherapy two weeks after diagnosis and went through six months of intensive treatment – so it was a very fast process but I was always comfortable and confident that I was going to be fine as positivity is a major part of beating a big illness like cancer.

“My own sickness has definitely made me 10 times stronger as a person but also being a carer has played a huge part in making me mature at a young age.

“Thankfully both my mum and I are strong independent people who are steadily on the mend and I believe we will both be fine.”

Padraig McGrath, Young Carer Manager for FCI says Jamie’s story is not unusual and there are probably a lot more young people looking after relatives than official statistics state.

“Figures from Census 2011 showing 14,205 young carers under 24-years-old mask the reality of the prevalence of young carers in Ireland,” he says.

“A study undertaken by Dr Saul Becker, a leading international specialist on young carers, estimates that Ireland could have as many as 28,000 young carers under 18 and 52,700 under 25 years of age.

“And a more recent study commissioned by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs published in 2016 shows that 11.9% of 10-17 year olds surveyed stated that they provide regular unpaid personal help for a family member with a long-term illness, health problem or disability.

“If extrapolated out to the national population this would mean that some 56,118 young people in the 10-17 year age group alone provide regular unpaid care.”

www.familycarers.ie or call 1800 24 07 24