Monthly income 2007: €1,542
Monthly income 2013: €1,441

Cleo is a single person in her early 30s living in rented accommodation in Galway. She works long hours in a restaurant and her employer generally pays her at minimum wage rates.

Her earnings are €19,000 per annum. Cleo is worried about the forthcoming Budget. She has looked at her net income from 2007 to judge the impact that successive austerity Budgets have had on her income. In 2007, her net monthly income was €1,542. But this has reduced to €1,441 by 2013. In total, this represents a net monthly decrease of €101.