My budget

Claire Shoesmith talks to people from varying backgrounds and finds out what the budget means for them

Trainee / €19 rise only pays for two hours in a creche

Lorraine Dempsey is very disappointed. Yesterday's Budget didn't do much to help her and won't have any positive effect on the life of her and her four children.

"It's not been a good day for me personally," says the 33-year- old mother who is training to be an information officer as part of a community employment scheme.

She struggles every day to pay for childcare for her baby while she participates in the programme and then returns to the school in time to collect her three other children at the end of the day.

She already has to pay her sister to collect the baby from the creche because she can't get there in time.

Scoffing at the revelation by Minister for Finance Brian Cowen that he will make €1,000 for each child available each year, she says: "What will €19 a week get you - two hours in a creche?"

She was hoping to see some sort of subsidy for childcare, in particular after-school and holiday childcare, which didn't feature at all yesterday.

This means that she will still have to rush from her part-time training scheme to collect her children from school at the end of the day and if she's late, they will just have to wait.

While she welcomes the tax incentives for people to set up childminding facilities in their own homes, because it will most likely increase the number of available childcare places, she says this isn't much use when you can't afford to pay for the places.

Ms Dempsey was also hoping to see some sort of incentive to help people on community schemes find jobs when the training ends.

Nothing like this was mentioned yesterday and so the issue remains a big worry for her.

In July she will have to find her own job that will pay enough to fund the childcare.

Single mother / Childcare benefits welcomed despite concerns

"My first instinct is a good one," says single mother Susan Brennan of yesterday's Budget. "I'm definitely delighted with the extra childcare benefits, but a little bit concerned about where the money's coming from. I fear we are going to end up paying for it in other ways."

While for her own personal situation - her son is four - the increase in child benefit and the introduction of a €1,000 payment for every year the child is under six is good news, the situation isn't quite so great for those with children over the age of six, she says.

"I think that a lot of people will be disappointed with this," says the 25-year-old mother of one.

While she welcomes the announcement of an increase in childcare places, she's still concerned that places are expensive and that the rise in child benefit may encourage people to put their prices up further. One thing that's not so good is a lack of news about after school care, she says.

With most schools finishing early in the afternoon, many parents struggle to collect their children on time and are often forced to pay for afternoon childcare they can't really afford, she says. She would have liked to have seen some sort of subsidised after-school care to help working single mothers.

Still, overall the package is very positive, and Ms Brennan welcomes the increase in maternity leave. "I am all for these increases," she says. "Childcare is something I'm going to have to live with for a while, so I'm grateful for all the help they can give."

Working mother / Childcare payment 'just not enough'

Cora Tighe is not a happy lady. While childcare featured heavily in yesterday's Budget, there was little in it that will change the expectant mother's life for the better.

"I feel like saying 'thanks, Mr Cowen, thanks for nothing', " says the teacher, who already has two children. "There are some good proposals in there, but really it just seems to be papering over the cracks."

While in theory Ms Tighe welcomes the introduction of a €1,000 annual payment for children under six, she says it would not make much difference to her family, where both she and her husband work. "When you look at it on a weekly basis it's just not enough," she says. "I am very disappointed."

She is also upset that the benefit is only for children up to the age of six. "It's an insult to say that your child doesn't need care after six years of age," she says. "What do they think happens to them after that?"

While she welcomes the extra four weeks' maternity leave announced yesterday, she will unfortunately not benefit herself as it does not start until March and her baby is due early next year. "This is great news for some people and for the future, but for me it's no use," she says.

What she was really hoping for in yesterday's Budget was some recognition that fathers too may want to stay at home and spend some time with their new son or daughter. Personally she would like to share her allocation of parental leave with her husband.

As a teacher, timetabling restrictions mean that she is forced to take her leave in a block and would prefer for her husband to take the time instead on a day-by-day basis.

"It's good to see they are putting in plans for the long term, but what we really need is something for now, something for this year," she says.

Pensioner / Home support for elderly is 'vital'

Beth Nunan is a very happy woman. It's almost as if Brian Cowen was reading from her wish list at yesterday's Budget.

While the €14 increase in the State pension is not something to jump up and down about, it's better than a percentage increase and will come in very useful to many elderly people, she says.

She also welcomes the increase in the fuel allowance as keeping warm when you are old is very important and can be expensive.

However, for 73-year-old Ms Nunan, one of the best things to come out of yesterday's Budget announcement was the €150 million to help support elderly people in their own home.

"This is vital," she says, adding that the only thing that many elderly people want is to be cared for in their own community. Sending them into nursing homes where there is little physical or mental stimulation can be very upsetting for many elderly people, she says.

Still, she didn't get everything she wanted and acknowledged that in some ways, it was a preparatory Budget, leaving Mr Cowen room to raise the pension to the €200 mark next year ahead of the election. She would also have liked to have seen more regulation of the nursing home system to ensure that all elderly people are treated in the way that they deserve. She says that the service provided in some nursing homes leaves much to be desired.

She believes the Government should introduce some sort of tax incentive scheme for nursing homes that reach particular standards of care.

Still, yesterday's Budget was a good start and according to Ms Nunan, will be helpful to a lot of people. Looking back on her own younger days, she says she could only have wished for childcare benefits such as those announced yesterday. "Things have changed a lot though," she says. "And in my mind improved too."

Businessman 'Few positives for small companies'

For Colm Ó Tuathaill the businessman, yesterday was a black day. As a father of a newly born child, yesterday was a little bit better, but still not the best.

"In a business sense the Budget was very disappointing," says the owner-manager of IBT Solutions. "I don't see anything there that will help small businesses."

What he was hoping for was some sort of incentive to help him retain staff at his technology business and help him compete with large multinationals for the best-qualified workers. There was no mention of anything like this in yesterday's Budget.

Mr Ó Tuathaill is disappointed that the Government hasn't realised that it needs to look after the small indigenous companies. "Once the economy slows down and things don't look so rosy, the other larger companies are going to leave and the ones that are going to be left supporting the economy are the small indigenous ones," he says. "If the Government doesn't look after them now, some of them aren't going to be here."

According to Mr Ó Tuathaill, the few business issues mentioned in the Budget, such as the Government's decision to raise VAT registration thresholds, are of little benefit to small companies.

As far as childcare is concerned, Mr Ó Tuathaill says he is pleased the Government has recognised that it is an issue, but he is disappointed that it has chosen simply to put more money in people's pockets, rather than invest in facilities and networks for the future.

While he welcomes the tax incentives for people to provide childminding facilities in their own home, he says he's concerned there is no regulatory framework. He also points out that by putting more money in people's pockets, childcare prices are likely to rise. This is not the way forward.