MY BUDGET - PENSIONER:THERE WAS good and bad in yesterday's Budget, according to pensioner Breda O'Malley from Westport, Co Mayo.
“We have to acknowledge the fact that the State pension has not been cut, although pensioners are still missing the extra week in December,” she said.
Breda, who is a widow, said she was lucky enough to have her husband’s voluntary pension scheme, but others were dependent on the State pension as their only means of income.
“I worked until I was 50, but I never had my own pension. People just didn’t talk about it then. It’s particularly the case for women.”
One source of concern for Breda is the carbon tax.
“Many elderly people live in old houses, particularly in the west of Ireland where I live. I know people who go to bed early just to save their units. There’s a lot of worry about how much it will cost.”
Another worry is the introduction of a prescription charge.
Breda believes it will disproportionately affect elderly people, many of whom use medication on a daily basis.
She is also disappointed that the Government made no change to the Living Alone Allowance, a stipend paid to widows or widowers who have lost their spouse and find themselves depending on one pension. The allowance has been set at €7.70 a week since 1996.
“It would have been nice if the Government had increased the allowance. It would have made a big difference to people living on their own who had been used to two incomes.”
SUZANNE LYNCH