Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
139. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications further to Parliamentary Question No. 113 of 11 May 2022, when the implementation report on the 2016-2019 Energy Poverty Strategy will be available; and the status of the new energy poverty strategy. [41307/22]
View answerEnergy poverty, or fuel poverty, is influenced by a person’s income, the energy efficiency of their home, and the cost of the energy they use in their home. The ESRI recently published analysis which indicates that following the recent sharp increases in energy prices, the share of households that could be at risk of energy poverty has risen to 29.4%. This was estimated using the 10% of income spent on energy measurement of energy poverty.
The Government’s Strategy to Combat Energy Poverty is focused on the areas influencing energy poverty (household incomes, energy performance of homes and the cost of energy) and includes support aimed at alleviating the burden of energy poverty on the most vulnerable in society.
This includes a range of policies and measures supplementing lower-income households through the Fuel Allowance, the Household Benefits Package and other payments, as well as providing free energy efficiency upgrades through the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland schemes and the Social Housing retrofitting programme. In addition, the Electricity Costs Emergency Benefit Scheme benefited over 2 million households at a cost of almost €380 million.
Recognising the unprecedented rise in energy prices facing people the Government put in place a number of measures earlier this year for households and businesses to help them with their energy costs including as part of the National Energy Security Framework published in April.
My Department will shortly be publishing a progress review of the actions set out in the Strategy to Combat Energy Poverty 2016. At the same time a public consultation will be published. The progress review and responses to that consultation will help to inform the development of a new Energy Poverty Action Plan. The Plan will set out the actions the Government will take to alleviate energy poverty over the coming years, including short, medium and longer-term measures.
In the meantime, more immediate measures will also continue to be developed for the coming winter through the National Energy Security Framework and the Estimates process .
