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Fuel Poverty

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 June 2018

Tuesday, 19 June 2018

Questions (45)

John Brady

Question:

45. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to the levels of fuel poverty being experienced by low income households; her plans to undertake a review of the effectiveness of the fuel allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26577/18]

View answer

Oral answers (8 contributions)

Due to time constraints, I suggest strongly that Deputy Brady forfeit his initial 30 seconds and allow the Minister to answer immediately.

The fuel allowance is a payment of €22.50 per week, paid for the duration of the fuel season from October to April. Over 364,000 low income households will benefit from this allowance at an estimated cost of €227 million in 2018. The purpose of the payment is to assist these households with their energy costs and it was never intended to meet those costs in full. My Department's schemes, including the fuel allowance scheme, are constantly reviewed to ensure that they are fulfilling their objectives. Recent changes to the scheme which helped increase its effectiveness include extending the duration of the scheme to 27 weeks and the introduction of an option to receive the fuel allowance payment in two lump sums, thereby allowing people to buy fuel in bulk and potentially avail of special offers or discounts. My Department also pays an electricity or gas allowance at an estimated cost of €237 million in 2018. Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, a special heating supplement may be paid to assist people in certain circumstances who have special heating needs. Exceptional needs payments may be made to help meet an essential, once-off cost which an applicant is unable to meet out of his or her own resources.

In 2016, the Government launched a comprehensive strategy to combat energy poverty following extensive public consultation. This strategy, which is being spearheaded by the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, sets out the Government's commitment to protecting vulnerable households from energy poverty through a combination of supports, investment in schemes to improve energy efficiency and energy efficiency awareness initiatives. One of the best ways to tackle fuel poverty in the long term is to improve the energy efficiency of the dwelling through proper building and household insulation. The warmer homes scheme administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland is designed to do that. Earlier this year, this scheme was expanded to include recipients of domiciliary care allowance and a further expansion to include carers is under consideration. The Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment is reviewing the scheme and my officials will participate in that review.

Fuel poverty is a reality. That is not based merely on the anecdotal evidence of old-age pensioners trying to keep warm in public buildings across the State in the winter months; it is based on the evidence and on facts. The latest SILC report demonstrates that 29% of people living in consistent poverty are unable to keep their homes adequately warm. In January, I asked the Minister, on the basis of numerous debates and submissions to her, about the need to carry out a review of the fuel allowance payment within the Department. The payment is a key measure in addressing fuel poverty. The Minister replied to me that there was an issue with the incidence of fuel poverty. She further stated that while she was requested during the passage of the Social Welfare Bill to conduct an inquiry as to the changes the Government might make regarding social transfers, she could not agree to do so as it was not within the remit of her Department. However, she said she had found a back door to do what was sought to be achieved and would conduct the review over the coming weeks with a view to examining the rates of payment and the periods of time during which they are made. The Minister said that it had to be acknowledged that the price of fuel had increased. Where is the review and can we see what was contained in it? What recommendations, more importantly, came out of it?

I agree with the Deputy that the vast majority of households experiencing fuel poverty do so because they are unable to keep their houses warm. As such, income supports are only part of the answer. In many cases, in fact, they are not even a big part of the answer. The best way to tackle fuel poverty in the long term is to improve the energy efficiency of houses through proper building and retrospective fitting of insulation. Initiatives like the warmer homes scheme operated by the SEAI under the aegis of the Department of my colleague, the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Denis Naughten, have a very valuable role to play in that context, as does funding from the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government to improve the quality of existing local authority houses. I told the Deputy during conversations at the social welfare committee at the beginning of the year that I would inform myself on any changes I might make with regard to budget negotiations this year and am in the process of doing that. Part of that information was the report I was waiting on from Maynooth. There was no point creating the wheel when it was already there and the college was already reviewing fuel poverty. We are waiting for the final outlay from that. The report will feed into other information we have in the Department and prove valuable in our budgetary discussions and deliberations later in the year.

In that case, the review the Minister was talking about still has not been published.

That is why I am waiting on it.

That is not what the Minister said in her contribution in January. She said she had found a back door to assess this. The evidence is all there and we know fuel costs have increased. In its pre-budget submission, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul told us that 48% of people went without heating in 2017 due to the cost. The society spends in the region of €4.3 million trying to help people in consistent poverty to keep their homes warm. While it is administered across a number of Departments, the fuel allowance is a key measure to alleviate fuel poverty. It could be done in a number of ways. Following cuts made over a number of years, the payment period for fuel allowance is down to 27 weeks. A key and quick measure would be reintroducing a 32 week period. A cold weather measure could also be introduced. Is that something which could be looked at, not on an ad hoc basis annually, but on a statutory basis?

The fuel allowance this year will amount to €227 million while €237 million has been provided for electricity and gas payments. Further millions have been provided under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme and the exceptional needs payment scheme. The problem here is that heat is going straight up the chimney. The real way to future-proof people living in consistent fuel poverty is to ensure the heat stays in their houses. The only way to do that is to upgrade our local authority housing stock retrospectively, which can be done through the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, and to ensure there are SEAI grants for everyone else with an older house which requires proper insulation using the great stuff that will keep us warm. If the money is increased, that is great, but when people pay for coal or gas, the heat must stay in their houses.

Written Answers are published on the Oireachtas website.
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