Case Study: Mary’s Story

Mary lives with her children on a low income in a provincial Irish town. Mary has a large family and works full-time as the sole carer for her children, with the result that she is reliant on social welfare to support her to be with her children at a time in their lives when they need her. As Mary works in the home caring for her children, she and her children are reliant on payments from the State in order to survive.

As a result of the fact that her income is inadequate to live on, Mary has difficulty paying for food, clothing and those household bills such as gas and electricity. This situation has put Mary in debt and she has appeared in court for non-payment of one particular bill.

Mary also, in the same way as many of us, supports her wider family in their times of need. A close relative of Mary’s died recently, and it was up to her to organise and pay for her relative’s funeral. The amount of money received by Mary to care for her family does not take into account the big events that life throws up. So in order to pay the funeral costs, Mary had to borrow a substantial sum of money. Saving for a rainy day is not an option for those whose incomes can barely cover basic necessities.

Mary borrowed money from illegal moneylenders in order to pay off some of her bills. The moneylenders are very aggressive, and are now seeking a large sum of money from her in order to clear the debt. In the current circumstances she doesn't know how to remedy this situation, and is frightened.

There are steps that the Government can take to ensure that families have enough money to ensure the best future for their children.