Watching her pennies, but no longer using money-lenders

For Cathy Sherwin (35) and her two teenage daughters, things have improved over the past three years. But just as soon as she says she doesn't have to struggle any more, this energetic single mother is eagerly explaining how she tries to make her money last the week.

"Oh God, yes, you watch your pennies. You have to. On Thursday I pay my bills. Friday I do my shopping. I go from supermarket to supermarket because I know which ones are cheaper for which things. So I might do shopping for half in Dunnes, for more in Tesco, and then I'd go to the local butcher for meat. Beef in the supermarket is too expensive. You couldn't buy it. And with veg, well, we're very lucky because the market is just across the way and it's very cheap."

Since her daughters have grown older, Cathy has been able to return to part-time work on a Community Employment Scheme. She leaves her small local authority house in Dublin's Smithfield area each weekday morning to work as a kitchen assistant in a hotel, bringing in just £100 a week. As part of the scheme she is also allowed to keep her benefits of another £100 a week, bringing her annual take-home pay to just on £10,000 a year.

The employment scheme, she acknowledges, has made a huge difference to her life. She is no longer using money-lenders - except at Christmas - and she no longer worries about the electricity being turned off. But she does feel she may not escape the constant reminders of her "place", which in some ways has got worse.

"Any time I've needed healthcare in the past it has been there, but I do feel you have to wait longer for things if you are on a medical card.

"Just recently I had an abscess on my tooth and I rang to see the dentist, to be told he didn't deal with medical cards any more. I had to ring six dentists before I got one who would see me. And I was in agony."

She tells how numerous apartment complexes have been built in the area, and how residents "put up with filth and noise and dust for two years".

"We were told there would be a lovely hotel, with great facilities which we could avail of. Since that hotel opened, the residents around here have been refused entrance. There is constant discrimination, on the grounds of your address or your accent."

She never eats in a restaurant, has had just one holiday with her daughters (to London five years ago), has not been out of Dublin in three years and never buys herself clothes in a boutique, "always Dunnes or Penneys".

In her 35 years in Dublin she has never stood in Brown Thomas or purchased an item in Marks and Spencer.

"I know I'd never be able to afford anything in those shops. At Christmas I might get the girls something in Warehouse or Oasis, and it breaks my heart to see £40 or £50 go on one item.

"I worry about the kids more and how they are going to manage, how they are going to be able to get a house. They'd never be able to afford the rents they are looking for now."

"When I think of the people who are living the high life I think `Fair play to them'. Maybe they have worked hard all their lives. But, of course, it's frustrating. You see the bank cards and the cheque books and you think, `Oh, one week I'd love to live like that for just one week.' "