SPARE a thought for Breakfast Roll Man this weekend. Last year he was lauded for his performance in Dublin's commuter belt polling booths. He won the general election for Fianna Fáil. He was a stalwart of the Celtic Tiger economy and the Soldiers of Destiny were going to see him right.

Fast-forward 16 months to budget day and he is given a kick in the teeth.

The label 'Breakfast Roll Man' was created by economist David McWilliams. Up before dawn every weekday, he travels at least 50 miles to work from his new commuter-belt home.

He battles with the rush-hour traffic and gets to his office desk or construction site a few hours later. Time is of the essence for him in the morning so he stops en route to get a greasy breakfast roll from a petrol station.

McWilliams' label was given more credence last year when former Fine Gael minister for agriculture Ivan Yates claimed Breakfast Roll Man won the election for Fianna Fáil.

When you look at the election results, Fianna Fáil certainly did well in the 'commuter belt' constituencies of Louth, Meath East, Kildare North, Wicklow and parts of Wexford, Meath West, Carlow-Kilkenny and Laois-Offaly.

While Fianna Fáil did not increase its support in all of these constituencies, Yates' argument that the party owed a lot of its success to Breakfast Roll Man certainly holds true.

The Sunday Tribune returned to Yates this weekend to obtain his analysis of how the budget treated the commuter. Was Labour right? Did it "mug the middle classes"?

Yates said: "Tragically, Breakfast Roll Man has been struggling to hold onto his job since last September.

"His outlook on the government has been on a downer since the election. He and his partner are into negative equity on their semi-D. Now, the budget has hit every aspect of their standard of living on all sides."

The 1% tax levy hits all incomes so if the commuter earns €45,000 a year, €450 of that will be taken off him. The cost of commuting has already taken a hit as the duty on petrol went up by eight cent from midnight on Tuesday.

If he drives a car with an engine over 2.5 litres and in the CO2 bands E, F and G, his motor tax will increase by 5%, or 4% for an engine below the 2.5 litre threshold and CO2 bands A to D.

After battling his way through traffic chaos to get to work, Breakfast Roll Man will have to pay an annual levy of €200 for the car parking space provided by his employer.

Tax relief on medical expenses has been capped at the standard rate and the cost of using accident and emergency services at a hospital has also increased. Annual health insurance premiums will also increase so that is an extra drawback.

College registration fees have taken a hit as well, jumping from €600 to €1,500. He's heard on talk radio as he sat in a traffic jam recently that the government are also talking about re-introducing college fees.

If Breakfast Roll Man has a few young children, he probably does not go to the pub. It costs too much to get a babysitter and socialising is something he used to do before he had a huge mortgage tied around his neck.

Even though staying in is the new going out, the cost of a pint has stayed the same. The cost of the few bottles of wine he shares with his wife on a Friday night in front of The Jonathan Ross Show has gone up 50 cent a bottle since Tuesday night. If he smokes, a further 50 cent has been added to the price of a pack of 20 cigarettes.

Christmas is just around the corner and the cost of the annual shopping spree is also to be hit with an increase in the standard rate of VAT by 0.5% to 21.5% from 1 December.

He is sick of hearing George Lee tell him how doomed we all are every night when he makes it home for the Nine O'Clock News. If he gets to go on a holiday next summer the cost of his flights will increase by €10 in departure tax.

Yates added, "Sick of Ireland, Breakfast Roll Man might be heading to London. There will be construction work there soon as they prepare for the Olympics in 2012.

"He might not wait until things pick up in London as he may just go to Dubai now where he is guaranteed work straight away.

"In an attempt to spread the burden
the government has antagonised everybody. In the same way that John McCain cannot run away from Bush's legacy in the US, this government may not be able to run away from the legacy of this budget."