Disability and caring: Almost 324,000 people, or 8.3 per cent of the population, suffer from a disability or long-term health problem, according to the 2002 census.However, most of these people are over retirement age.
The numbers of those with a disability increased every five years, with two-thirds of those with a disability aged 50 or over. About 80 per cent are over 65.
In the 0-20 age-group 8,835, or 2.8 per cent of the total, indicated they suffered some disability or long-term illness, showing there are almost 9,000 such dependent children in the State.
The census also showed a high rate of unemployment among people with disabilities and long-term health problems, with only 30 per cent of males in this category employed, and only 20 per cent of females.
This represented about 45,000 workers, or 2.7 per cent of the total workforce, two-thirds of whom were men.
There were more males than females suffering from disabilities in most age groups up to 70 and over, but from this age females outnumbered men, probably reflecting the fact that women live longer than men generally. The census also measured the number of people involved in caring for sick and disabled family members or friends on an unpaid basis. Almost one in 20 (4.8 per cent of people aged over 15) indicated they provided such help. This amounted to almost 149,000, of whom 91,000 (61 per cent) were female.
Half of all carers were in their 40s and 50s, and the majority of them were women, with women carers in this age-group outnumbering men by almost two to one. One in 10 women in this age-group is a carer.
More than one in four of all carers, a total of 40,000 people, provide unpaid help to ill or disabled friends or relatives for 43 hours a week or more.
This is more than the normal working week for paid workers.
This burden falls disproportionately on women and elderly people. Two-thirds of the heavily-committed carers are women. Half of all those over the age of 65 who provide care to others have a commitment of over 43 hours a week.