Carers say they're being forced to dip into savings or go into debt to cover costs due to inadequate supports.
That's according to Family Carers Ireland, which says households with a child that has a disability are paying 1,000 euro more a month than those without additional caring needs.
It comes as one Cork carer revealed that she was forced to rely on handouts from her children to make ends meet
The Echo reports that former city councillor 68 year old Marion O'Sullivan has been a carer for her brother Stephen for 15 years and because she is in receipt of the old age pension, she gets around 43 euro a week in a carer's allowance
She says the system is "chronic" for any carer who is now in their 60's
Catherine Cox from Family Carers Ireland, says more needs to be done to help struggling families.
"We certainly need to see the long awaited replacement for the mobility allowance. It's gone since 2012.
"We need to deal with the waiting lists for therapies and treatments at the moment. Families are borrowing to pay for vital therapies.
"They're paying for that privately because their children or their loved ones are waiting two years or more. And we do need to look at their carers allowance payment as well, to look at the eligibility."
