‘You’re checking the price of everything now’ - cost of living hits home

The increased cost of living is impacting on everyone who stopped to talk to The Irish Times around Dublin’s Meath Street on Sunday.

Cathy Mooney, on her way into St Catherine's Church for Mass with her daughter (8) said even "the little things you'd pick up without thinking about before" had gone up.

“Something that was €1.50 is now €1.80. You’re checking the price of everything now.”

She and her partner both “have good jobs”. They have two daughters and are “really conscious about not wasting anything”.

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“If you have leftovers, you are making sure you use them or freeze them because food is gone so dear. Bills are gone through the roof, so it’s watching the heating, making sure the kids turn out the lights. All those things you really do have to watch. It’s just gone really bad.”

The impact on the children particularly upsets her. "We can't give the kids a holiday this year. My kids have never been out of Ireland and my oldest is going to be 14. It's not that we even have expensive tastes. My teenager is really good but I still have to pull back when she asks for things. She is a good kid and doesn't ask for a lot but when she does I have to say no or tell her to wait. So it's all having a huge impact. Everything is a struggle."

At a supermarket on nearby Thomas Street, Camlea Medves has just finished a week’s grocery shopping with her husband Paul and son Gabriel (9). “We just spent €160,” she says and adds she is shocked. “We had to buy some extra things for my son because it’s coming near to Easter. Yes prices are going up a lot. It is really bad. The Government help us with the electricity voucher for €200 but we will pay three more times than this later.”

She looks after their son “bringing him to school, football practice” while her husband works as “a steel fixer”.

“So, it’s okay. He has a job, but there will be no extra things this year.”

Liam Waldron, a minister in St Catherine's had noticed price increases "particularly in the last month".

“Me and my partner, he has a good job, we both work full-time but our bills have doubled since last year. The likes of commodities, grocery bills, everything is completely increased.

"The bakery down there, they put up a notice on their Facebook saying they would have to increase prices because they can't get the flour. Things aren't too drastic that we have had to cut back, but it is worrying for families."

Pensioners Margaret and James Bowden say they "can cope" with recent increases, but can see the rises "are hurting people".

“We are used to making do and adapting but I think younger ones, especially with families, they find it harder,” says Ms Bowden. “We have cut back on holidays so we can pay for our heating. We would always go abroad but this year we will go around either Galway or Kilkenny because I have vouchers from my 80th birthday last year,” says Mr Bowden.