Case Study: Áine’s Story

Áine lives on a local authority housing estate in a rural town in Ireland. She has four children and has been separated from her partner for the last year. She is a full time mother working at home with her family. In this rural community, part-time work opportunities for women are limited and childcare costs are prohibitive, so the family’s only income is Child Benefit, the One Parent Family Payment and the Early Childcare Supplement.

Áine finds certain occasions and time of year very expensive including First Holy Communion, Confirmation, back to school and Christmas. She has availed of various grant schemes to help for such occasions but still finds herself in debt. She left school early and has poor literacy levels so she finds the process of applying for supports difficult and has to make many trips to the social welfare office and to the school as a result of this.

Áine feels that there is no free education system. The hidden costs of books and school trips make life difficult for Áine and her children. The children are very perceptive. Often they won’t tell her about a school trip because they know she can’t afford it, or they might tell their friends that they didn’t want to go anyway.

The children often have to wear second hand clothes and their shoes and socks are in a very poor condition. Their diet is also limited and a more varied one would be healthier. There is little competition among the shops in the town so the cost of food is high. If there was public transport available, Áine could go to a neighbouring town with larger shops.

There are steps that the Government can take to ensure that Áine and her children have enough money to pay for healthy food and education.