‘I’m a strong person but that bill made me feckin’ cry’

Maureen Grant started crying when she opened the gas bill that came through her door after Christmas.

“It’s terrible. My last gas bill was nearly €400 and it’s usually about €170. I nearly had a heart attack. How am I going to pay that on €250 a week? It’s unbelievable – and my ESB was €200.”

In a bid to make ends meet, she is paying off what she can weekly, but knows that she won’t have settled one bill before the next ones arrives.

“I still won’t have it paid. I was crying.”

Before the recent rise in the cost of living, driven by record energy prices rises, and inflation at levels not seen in nearly 30 years, Maureen says that she used to able to manage reasonably well on her pension.

Since Christmas in particular, however, she has had to make significant changes, and they have an impact on the quality of her life.

“It was never hard for me. If someone was coming, I’d get a few extra pieces and that, and always had something in the freezer, but this is really after knocking me sideways... Them two winter bills have really set me back.

“I am not turning it [heating] on now [early in the day]... God love them, my daughter and her son-in-law help, but I don’t want them doing that.

“I turn my heat on around four o’clock, but if it was cold and I wasn’t going out, I’d have to turn it on. I try to put on cardigans and jumpers, but once your feet are cold, you are cold all over. And I need hot water and you have to put on the heat to get hot water, don’t you?”

While the government announced week that it was reducing VAT on energy, Maureen says it will have little effect given the huge increase in the cost of living over the last year.

“You can see it [in your shopping]. There is nearly €40 in the difference in the same groceries.”

Maureen, who is recovering from surgery on her knee, says the government will have to introduce more supports to help pensioners and other low income households.

“They will have to, something has to be done. People can’t live like that. Jesus Christ, talk about stress. I am a strong kind of a person but it made me feckin cry.”

The Westmeath Examiner visited the 1428 Active Retirement Club in Mullingar on Tuesday morning last to chat to its members about how the biggest rise in the cost of living in a generation was affecting them. While it is almost impossible to bring the mood down in the 1428 Club’s base on Bishopsgate Street, most of those we spoke to said that trying to manage their finances was hitting their quality of life.

Like many people on a low income, Sheila Collins has had to seriously tighten her belt. “I find it so bad. I’m not the best on my feet but the cost of living has gone up so much that I can no longer afford to get a taxi with my shopping.

“I have to push my trolley up and down to the supermarket but at least I have wheels on my trolley. I wouldn’t be able to shop otherwise. I can’t afford my taxi, which is a fiver a week, because groceries are so expensive, I don’t have the five euro to spare,” she told the Westmeath Examiner.

Sheila suffered a serious brain injury in September 1988 when she was 28, which forced her to give up her teaching job. She lives with her two dogs, Jack and Molly. They not only provide her with companionship but also help keep her warm at night when she goes to bed.

“I leave the heating off until it is absolutely necessary. I put on a heater to blow for a couple of minutes, but that’s it,” she said.

Sheila has also noticed a big increase in the cost of the premium brand dog food she gives Jack and Molly. While there are alternatives, she would put their needs ahead of hers if it came to it, she says.

“I don’t want to get them the cheaper stuff, because they are my babies... They are the babies I never had and if I have to do without because there isn’t enough money, I will.”

Mary Browne says she is sheltered from the worse of the price hikes as she now lives in a care-in-the-community house in Mullingar. She has, though, noticed a sharp rise in the cost of the bits and pieces she buys for herself. Her heart goes out to the thousands of people struggling to cope.

“It’s very tough, especially for old people. A lot of people are living on their own. They have to buy their groceries and are barely living on their pensions. It’s hard for them,” Mary says.

Retired chef Mick O’Neill can still manage on his pension, which he attributes to the experience of running his own business for a period, when he learned to keep overheads down. He also learned lessons on how to be frugal from his mother.

He acknowledged that the rise in the cost of living is a major source of worry for many of his contemporaries.

“My mother raised six of us on her own and she worked three jobs to rear us. There was no such thing as deserted wives allowance at that time. She managed it.”

Mick has a prepaid account for his electricity and earlier this month received the €200 rebate, which will cover his energy costs in the coming weeks. He is also careful when it comes to managing the storage heaters in his flat, but won’t sit in a cold house, he says.

Instead of doing a big shop once a week, he picks up a few things every couple of days and as a cost conscious ex-chef always keeps an eye on the shelf where supermarkets put the products that are near their sell or use by dates.

“You can see the difference in the price of stuff now. My clubmates speak about how much their shop has gone up.

“One woman said that what used to cost her €70 or €80 now costs her over €100.

“For instance I love tomatoes. Dunnes used to do a carton of tomatoes and you’d get six in a carton for a euro. I was in recently and I bought tomatoes, but instead of six tomatoes there was five and instead of being a euro it was €2. And that was only one item.”

Debbie Daly, manager of the 1428 club, says older people suffered more than most groups during the pandemic and the same cohort are most affected by price hikes.

“Their fuel bills, it’s an awful lot out of a pension of just over €200. The ESB, the gas, all of the fuel has gone up. Groceries too, we even find it here. A couple of weeks ago, a block of butter went up 30 cent. It’s basic stuff that is going up. Staples, not luxury products.”

Trying to make sure that they have enough money to cover their living expenses is affecting people’s mental and physical wellbeing, she says.

“When people get older, their joints are affected and they need heat for that. To be afraid to turn on your heat is an awful thing. It should be now that they are getting care packages, not during the pandemic. It’s now that people need them more,” she said.