Case Study: Michael and Aoife’s Story

Michael and Aoife have five children. The family has mostly been dependent on social welfare. Michael had a job for six months but left it as the job was low paid and working conditions were very poor.

The main problem was that when Michael was working, the family lost their medical card. The family were better off on social welfare as they were entitled to a medical card again. The children constantly get infections and the flu, and miss school as a result. When the family lost their medical card, their G.P. was seriously concerned that they might not seek medical treatment because of the cost.

The family spends about €110 a week on food. This averages about €15 per day to feed 7 people. This amounts to €2.55 per day on food, or about 75 cent per person per meal. Their diet is poor and the food they eat is basic. The children receive second hand clothes from other families in their neighbourhood. But the children’s shoes are often in a very poor state and they sometimes have no socks or underwear.

The family often struggle to pay regular bills, and have fallen into rent arrears with their local authority. Eviction was threatened as they owed over €1,000. Aoife now pays €100 off the rent arrears when she collects the child benefit each month. Their three-bedroomed house is overcrowded and they have applied to the local authority for an extension; but were turned down due to rent arrears. The Child Benefit is stretched to cover debts and is entirely spoken for before they ever get it into their hands.

Their main problem is that their income is inadequate to meet the needs of their seven-member family, and Michael’s children could not access basic healthcare.

There are steps that the Government can take to ensure that children have access to basic healthcare and have an adequate income on which to live

This case study in adapted from ‘Children Living Without’, a report published by Barnardos in 2003 as part of their Every Child Matters campaign. Barnardos are a partner organisation of the End Child Poverty Coalition.