Tommy Walshe and Elizabeth Palfreyman, parents of Damien (aged 16) and Shane (12)

Tommy recently left his job as a hotel manager because it involved working nights and he wanted more time to spend with his family and friends. He now has a nine-to-five job in maintenance.

Elizabeth enjoys her role as "home manager" and mother. When the couple married, they planned from the beginning that Elizabeth would be at home full-time and that they would have two children so that they could afford to educate them on one income.

Tommy believes that once you have a comfortable home, time to enjoy life and enough money to provide for your children's education, then you're doing well. The couple never go out without the children, preferring family activities, especially at weekends. Tommy devotes many hours each week to his voluntary work with the National Parents Council and the Parents Association of Community and Comprehensive Schools. This involves public relations work, as well as commuting to Dublin and Limerick about twice a month.

Elizabeth is a "soccer mum", organising her schedule around bringing her sons to soccer practice four nights a week, and she stays for practice too. Tommy sometimes does the soccer run.

Time together as a family at home in Moate, Co Westmeath, is a priority and Sundays are a family day, spent going to the cinema or playing pitch-and-putt. Once a month the family go out for a meal together.

GUNDRY COULD SEE immediately that Tommy's voluntary work is very important to him, even though it is time-consuming. Tommy also enjoys gardening and "rearing turf", which he finds relaxing.

"These are also ways for him to get a bit of time for himself," says Gundry.

Tommy likes to spend time with the boys going to matches, playing football and snooker and, since he moved jobs a few weeks ago, he has found time to do this.

Tommy needs to lose weight and the couple want to spend more time together, so in October they plan to start swimming classes. Gundry thinks this will be a good way for the couple to do something together without the boys.

Gundry says: "Elizabeth is very busy with activities and her voluntary work with the Community Games. She agrees that she does race from one place to another, but enjoys this. Elizabeth relaxes by doing activity; she is not the type of person who likes to sit and do nothing. When she takes the boys training, she waits for them, and if she is not talking to other parents she gets out Sudoku.

She misses having time to do embroidery or knitting. This could be slotted in on a Sunday when the family get back from their day out.

The challenge for Tommy and Elizabeth now will be to work on finding time as a couple, and make space for their individual hobbies.