IRISH households have been thrown into chaos as the cost of living crisis continues to spiral out of control.
Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe and Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Michael McGrath today unveiled their €11billion Budget, including one-off cash boosts and more childcare support for parents.
But some say the measures don’t go far enough as inflation continues to push up the price of fuel, food and other necessities.
Busy mum Rebecca O’Reilly is delighted that savings will be made in childcare — but says Christmas will still be a financial struggle.
The mother-of-two from Dublin criticised the government for not extending the threshold for retrofitting grants far enough as part of the budget.
Rebecca O’Reilly wants to retrofit her home in Ballyfermot to make it more energy-efficient.
READ MORE ON THE BUDGET
She works full time but despite being on a lower income, Ms O’Reilly would be forced to pay a fee of €15,000 upfront to make the necessary changes to her home.
Ms O’Reilly, a single mother to a six-year-old and three-year-old, can access grants to cover up to 51 per cent of the cost of a deep retrofit but said she cannot afford to pay the upfront fees.
She said: “My house is old and so it’s not the best in the sense of retaining heat.
“In the winter, it can get really cold in the house. So I thought I would look in to the retrofitting and see what the grants are and if they could maybe help.
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“To get a free-of-charge grant you have to be on social welfare payments, which I don’t receive.
“If I was to get the retrofit, it would cost me €12,000 to €15,000 upfront.
“Bottom line is if I wanted to get anything retrofitted in my house to help with efficiency and energy and get rid of the mould in the house, I’d have to have €12,000 to €15,000 which is not something that I have.
“It’s unfortunate because I’m trying to do things the right way, I’m working full time trying to show my kids it’s good to be out there working and not having to rely on social welfare.
“If I was to pack my job in and just rely on the government, then I can get the house retrofitted, which just seems a little bit backwards in my opinion.
“I find that these grants are always helping either the very low income or those on full social welfare support. Then there are people that can afford it because they are on a higher end salary and then there are those in the middle ground, where there’s no help.
“I am on the lower middle where I am just over that threshold.
“If I reduced my hours and got social welfare then I could get the grant but then I wouldn’t have as much money coming in to the house.
‘NOT FEASIBLE’
“You try and do things the right way. There’s also an attitude of a single parent taking money from the government.
“I want to get it up to an A or B rating because at the moment, when I knock the heating off, it’s cold after half an hour. If the house was efficient, it would hold the heat.
“The payment up front is just not feasible. The grant is brilliant but it’s only helping people who have that kind of money up front. It’s not helping the people who really need it.
“I am dreading winter and the bills. With Christmas and everything else, if I didn’t have my family’s support, it would be very difficult but I shouldn’t have to rely on them.”
Ms O’Reilly welcomed the 25 per cent reduction in childcare fees, adding: “That will definitely benefit me. My youngest child is in creche and my daughter goes to to a homework club, which is a separate cost.
“The free books is obviously another saving that will benefit me for the start back to school. I only have one child going to school at the moment but when the two of them go to school that will be a saving of 150 euro on books alone, so that makes a big difference.
“I am delighted to hear of those cuts.”
Karen Clince of Tigers Childcare welcomed the 25 per cent reduction in fees for creches — but says more needs to be done.
She said: “The increased subsidies announced today are very welcome and will make life that little bit easier for working families, especially single parents and families with multiple young children as well as women coming back from maternity leave.
“However we see this as a journey. Thousands of single parents and middle-income families have been hard hit over the last few years.
“And as the cost of living continues to soar, the savings from childcare fee reductions will be barely felt.
“While the government should be commended for taking this overdue step, it should be viewed as an important building block towards more affordable childcare in Ireland and a more sustainable future for the sector.”
BUDGET DISAPPOINTMENT
Elsewhere, Geraldine Magnier said she’s disappointed that the Budget made “no major changes” for small businesses.
The Dubliner is the founder of technology company Idiro and the vice chair of the Small Firms Association.
She said: “In technology, one of the biggest challenges for us is talent retention.
“And as inflation goes up, the housing crisis, childcare costs and all that bundle together, that affects work because if we can’t get the staff, we then have no capacity to deliver.”
And in terms of small businesses, Geraldine said it seemed like a lot “of the usual soundbites” and “no major changes”.
She added: “The big thing for the sector is those with premises will be very happy with the energy support scheme, that is very welcome.
“To quote Donohoe he said it would be a significant increase and that word is very subjective as we are seeing businesses pre-winter with energy costs up by 300per cent.
“But we are disappointed that the VAT at 9 per cent is gone for hospitality, who already are seeing cost of business increase with the increase in minimum wage.”
