PAULINE Clifford is better off by the princely sum of 9p a week under the new PRSI exemption rate for civil servants. An extra £10 of her income will be exempt from her 0.9 per cent rate.
Her total gain from yesterday's Budget is just over £40.50 a year, or 77p a week. She makes around £11,900 a year as a civil servant with the Department of Agriculture. She is at the top of her grade as a clerical assistant.
"I'm very disappointed that there weren't any measures extended to the disabled," says Pauline, who is also secretary of the National Committee on Disability.
She believes that people claiming disabled persons' maintenance allowance should be allowed to keep their medical card benefits if they return to work.
Because of medical difficulties the medical card is worth another week's wages," she maintains.
Because she was recruited before last April, Pauline pays at the old PRSI rate for civil servants of 0.9 per cent, plus the 2.25 per cent levies on her total take-home pay.
Her colleagues who joined after last April pay the 5.5 per cent rate and will benefit from the extension of the exemption rate from £50 to £80.
She claims mortgage interest relief at 27 per cent and has no private health cover.
The extra 3.1p on super unleaded petrol will swallow most if not all of her 77p weekly increase.
She remortgaged her house recently to buy a £10,000 car.
As she suffers from cerebral palsy she qualifies for vehicle registration tax relief and an allowance for VAT on some of her petrol.
The only positive aspect of yesterday's Budget is that Pauline will take a little longer to break the 27 per cent barrier. Although she is not optimistic about her prospects.