14% of people in Ireland have a disability

One in seven (14%) of the population has a disability, while the number of people who provide unpaid care to a friend or family member has increased to 195,000.

According to a report on health, disability, and carers by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), women accounted for 60% (118,151) of the country’s carers in 2016. 3,800 children aged under 15 constitute 1.9% of all carers.

Half of all carers (52.7%) fall within the 40-59 age group, while the greatest proportion is in the 50-54 age group, which accounts for 28,703 carers (14.7%). There has been a 34.7% increase in carers aged 85 and over, whose numbers rose from 1,318 to 1,776.