Pensioner: ‘I think they should repeal the Eighth Amendment’

I was born in Chingford in Essex and grew up around London during the war. I worked as a primary teacher but after I met my husband, Dick, who was also born in England, I moved to Ireland when he came back to run a family farm here.

We got married in 1960 and lived for a year in the city but then we moved to Glounthaune where we raised our four children, Matthew, who went Australia for work, Anne, Tom and Helen, who is now in Germany working, and it was here that Dick set up his own car repairs business in the 1970s.

It was hard going because we had four children to look after - I was the go-for for the business - I used to do the accounts and that sort of thing. I am 80 now and I don’t have a state pension, I’m an appendage on Dick’s pension.

They said they wouldn’t touch the old age pension but I calculated we have lost 13 euro 18 cent a week since austerity began - the phone rental, the electricity allowance is gone, the fuel allowance is cut and of course we have the Local Property Tax and water charges.

I’ m not opposed to water charges because water has to be treated but Irish Water has been a complete debacle - I think it should have been left in the hands of the local authorities who still have to deal with malfunctions through Irish Water.

I’d say we are managing -but it involves being prudent - you weigh up each month what bill you can pay. At the moment we pay into a health insurance with Laya because we are afraid not to have it but we have moved from VHI to Laya to cut costs.

We want healthy aging within our community and we are going to ask every politician that calls to our door ‘Will they look after the health and social care of older people? And we’ld like to see primary care in every town with access to a doctor, nurse, physio and chiropody.

We’re involved with Age Action Ireland since doing one of their computer courses and I’d like to see the next government appoint a full cabinet minister for older people. The UN has suggested it but it hasn’t been implemented here yet - a senior person who understands the needs of older people.

I wasn't very concerned about the marriage equality referendum but I do think they should repeal the Eighth Amendment - I have felt for a very long time that abortion should be allowed in cases of rape and incest and fatal foetal abnormality and what happened Savita Halappanavar was appalling.

I'm inclined to go with Fine Gael at the moment because I think Michael Noonan needs to stay in position - I think he 's been a steady hand on the tiller and Fine Gael should be given another term but not 15 years like Fianna Fail where they had it so good they thought it would never end.

Enda needs to be careful he doesn't get too dictatorial. When he went to Europe and met Angela Merkel, it went to his head playing with the big boys and he's always wagging his finger -I know he was a teacher but I was a teacher too and I never wagged my finger at anybody!

Fianna Fáil are still struggling to overcome the legacy of Charlie, Bertie and Cowen and the economic crash. I find Micheal Martin annoying to listen to because he overtalks everybody and he doesn't allow the other person a say. I like Michael McGrath though - as a politician, he's a straight talker.

Joan Burton is at a disadvantage because, like all women in top jobs, she has to overcome comments about her appearance or her voice - it's like the women news readers or the weather forecasters - it's always the way they dress and have they a few wrinkles whereas the men can go forever.

Mary Lou is clever and able but I think as long as Gerry Adams is leader of Sinn Féin, they won't grow - it's good that they have come in and are part of the system but I don't think they are ready for government and I wouldn't believe daylight out of Gerry Adams - he never admits to anything.

I’ll probably vote on a mixture of national and local issues but do think Irish politics are too parochial and until they give up the civil war mindsets and stop their bickering and start to mature and become statesmen and put the country and all its citizens first, we are never going to progress”

Constituency: Cork North-Central.

Catherine O’Brien was in conversation with Barry Roche