MY BUDGET: CARER:"MY HEART was racing there for a moment watching the announcement. I am hugely grateful the carers have not been touched" was full-time carer Ann Hughes's reaction yesterday.
Ann (60), from Tullamore in Co Offaly, breathed a sigh of relief that carers have not been hit hard in the Budget.
“I am very relieved that it has not touched the carers, so I cannot moan, but we were terrified that it would,” she said.
She admitted being disappointed that conditions were not being improved for care workers, including with regard to low wages and limited benefits.
“I am pleased they have not touched our money but they have taken the Christmas bonus, which was one week’s wages to us, and will set us back at Christmas.”
Ann, who cares for her 30-year-old autistic daughter, Debbie, has been hit twice as hard by this particular factor, as her daughter will also not receive the Christmas bonus from her disability benefit.
“It is not much to most people, but it is a lot to us,” she added.
Although the increase in taxes and income levies did not personally affect her, she did feel sorry for young couples and home owners who she thinks have been unfairly hit by the changes, she continued. “My heart goes out to young couples trying to keep a home – everything is against them.
“There will be people that lose houses and homes that will fall apart.
“Rents are sky-high, and if you are trying to earn a mortgage then that is almost impossible too,” she added.
Although Ann admitted changes were necessary, she still places the blame firmly on the Government.
“It is a recession and we do not expect it to be easy, but I do think the Government has brought a lot of this on themselves.
“Surely they must have seen this coming and could have made preparations,” she added.
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