Census shows six thousand people providing unpaid care to family and friends in Mayo

Fri, Nov 03, 2017

The number of people acting as unpaid carers for a friend or family member in Mayo is higher than the national average, it was revealed this week.

According to the latest results from last year's Census issued by the Central Statistics Office, 4.7 per cent of the population in Mayo fulfil the role of a carer to a friend of family member, compared to 4.1 per cent nationally and 4.4 per cent in Connacht.

The Census found that 6,129 people who stated that they “provided regular unpaid personal help for a friend or family member with a long-term illness, health problem, or disability” comprised 4.7 per cent of the county’s population in April 2016. This was a decrease of 429 people (6.5 per cent) on 2011.