Jim and Susan feel hard done by in the Budget. Jim is 32 and earns £43,000 a year. Susan is 30 and looks after their three children aged two, four and five years. She wants to stay at home until the youngest starts school in about three years but feels discriminated against because the family has to pay more tax as she is not working.
They have a £100,000 mortgage on their home in north County Dublin and were disappointed to see a further cut in mortgage interest relief due to the fall in tax rates. They run two cars and are not impressed by the 3p reduction in the price of petrol. Susan smokes 20 cigarettes a day and is relieved to see no cost rise there.