Ennis family await impact of Budget

AN Ennis couple, relying on welfare payments, breathed a sigh of relief when the headline changes to benefits and allowances were announced in Budget 2013 on Wednesday afternoon.

The couple, with one young son, stand to be affected by a number of changes in the Budget because of their personal circumstances.

“Overall, I am relieved, I thought it would be a lot worse,” declared Siobhán McMahon, who has Cerebral Palsy and depends on State assistance due to restrictions imposed by her condition.
Ms McMahon, who lives with her full-time carer and partner, Mark Collins, and their son, Daniel (3), in local authority housing in Hermitage, will be hit by the €10 monthly cut in children’s allowance.

The couple use the children’s allowance to buy food and clothes and pay for Cloughleigh PlaySchool and will have to try and make savings to ensure Daniel’s needs are met.

While the couple hadn’t the opportunity to examine the finer details of the Budget, they were relieved the headline weekly social welfare core payments haven’t been cut.

As a full-time carer, Mr Collins is entitled to a carers’ allowance of €189 weekly plus €14.90 for one child, while Ms McMahon is in receipt of a disability allowance.

Some of the changes for welfare recipients will not emerge until the various departmental programmes are voted through the Dáil.

She hopes her disability free travel pass isn’t cut as she uses it to attend appointments concerning her wheelchair in Limerick. Travelling by train is one of the few relatively hassle-free modes of transport she can avail of compared to some public places, which are not wheelchair accessible.

The couple find themselves in a different situation to most families, not through choice. Mr Collins is restricted to the number of hours he can work on a weekly basis, while Ms McMahon is also very limited in terms of what she could do in the workplace.

“We didn’t choose our situation and it is different for others who have a choice. I would find it very hard to find a job because of my condition.

“I have no balance when I am walking unaided. I can do certain tasks but I need a wheelchair when I am out and about all the time. Regardless of how much the Government cuts social welfare payments our situation is not going to change,” she says.

Having secured an allocation of three personal assistant hours on a weekly basis, she hopes these will not be cut in any future home help or health cutbacks.