Member's statement: Paid Carers' Leave

Member's statement by Ms Sorcha Eastwood on 29 April 2024.

MLA: Ms Sorcha Eastwood
Party at the time: Alliance Party
Date: 29 April 2024
Type: Member's statement
Business: Members' Statements
Heading: Paid Carers' Leave
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 4485775

Text

I speak in support of the Carers NI campaign for paid carers' leave. At first glance, such a policy could support 1,000 unpaid carers. People want to work, but we keep putting barriers in their way. We know that around 220,000 people in Northern Ireland are providing unpaid care for family members and friends. The people whom they care for need them, and we as a society depend on them. Carers are having to juggle jobs, family life, bills, home life and other responsibilities, all whilst caring for loved ones. It is easy to talk about carers and not put faces to names, so I want to take you through some people whom I have come across in the past few weeks and months as I listened to people's stories on this matter. Last week, I met three incredible young carers — Nikita, Paul and Ella — all of whom have cared for a parent or a sibling or, indeed, a combination of the two since they were able to do so. That has included their giving care to those people whilst in primary school. Incredibly, all those young people want to work: indeed, they love working and love that aspect of having something outside of themselves and having a different identity. As I am only just starting to learn personally, being a carer is all-consuming and often engulfing. We want to give those people an opportunity, and we think that getting behind the Carers NI proposal for paid carers' leave is a way to do that. Indeed, as the Carers NI report notes, we need to remember that a huge number of those people will, indeed, love their careers, as I said. We also need to remember, however, when reading through the report, that behind those people are stories with unique circumstances. Another person whom I have met is a constituent of mine called Alison. She is desperate to work and loves her job, but she has been forced out of work because she does not have the supports in place to allow her to work. She has had to leave her job due to the pressure of caring and now feels that she is taking a step backwards in her career and her life. Indeed, in her own words, she says that she feels as though she is starting off back at the start, where she was 10 or 15 years ago, losing everything that she fought so hard to build up for her and her son. While GB has passed legislation for unpaid carers' leave, we in Northern Ireland have a special opportunity to take a step ahead, do what is right and bring forward legislation to introduce paid carers' leave. Thirty trade union leaders, economists, carer charities and women's sector groups have all backed the Carers NI campaign, and so do we. That is why I urge the Economy Minister to include provision for paid carers' leave in the employment Bill that, I hope, he will bring forward very soon. I trust that that will have the support of the House.

515 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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