I thank the Vice Chairman, Deputies and Senators for the invitation to Age Action to address what is a critically important issue, namely, fuel poverty and older people. We might have said something different two days ago.
Fuel poverty is a huge issue not only for Age Action but, most particularly, for older people at risk. Coming in the wake of yesterday's budget, this morning's discussion is even more relevant. It is not possible to differentiate payments for fuel from general income from a pension. Therefore, the abolition of the automatic entitlement to the over 70s medical card, the 1% income levy, the 7% pension increase and the €2 increase in the fuel allowance all have a huge impact on people's ability to keep their homes warm this winter. For many pensioners, the challenge of being able to afford to heat their homes is more difficult after yesterday's budget.
This is a major issue for older people as well as for Age Action. Older people rarely complain but instead they try to cope by going to bed earlier to cut their heating bills. Others sit in shopping centres and libraries to keep warm. However, what is even more alarming are the reports that older people are talking about getting by by cutting back on food or fuel, or both. Every year an additional 1,500 to 2,000 older people die in winter compared with summer. Most of these deaths are due to health problems such as respiratory illness or cardiovascular disease — cold-related illness — some of which could be avoided if there was sufficient heat in older people's homes.
In September we launched a petition on our website and used a billboard poster in Dublin donated by Ocean Advertising to promote fuel poverty as an issue. It featured a pair of frost bitten feet and the headline, set in a musical score style, read: "Jack Frost nipping at their toes". We feared this might upset older people but as it turned out, nobody voiced concerns at the billboard. Although the poster was only on one site in a Dublin suburb, word spread and over 1,600 people signed the petition. This petition was submitted to Deputy Máire Hoctor, the Minister of State with responsibility for older people, on 1 October. There is clearly growing public support for action to prevent fuel poverty and these unnecessary deaths.
Fuel poverty at its most basic is the inability to heat a home to an adequate temperature because of a low income and poor housing. Putting it another way, a household is fuel poor when it must spend more than 10% of its income on fuel to maintain an adequate level of warmth. By this measure, the Institute of Public Health, which I believe made a presentation to the committee earlier in the year, estimates that more than 145,000, or 19%, of households in Ireland experience fuel poverty. Low-income households depend on more expensive fuels than high income ones. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul has found that its local conferences can expect to spend over 50% of their total income on fuel-related costs and it estimates that almost 78% of older people are living in fuel poverty. These are huge figures.
In Ireland, an estimated 227,000 households experience some form of fuel poverty. Of these, 62,000, or just under 5% of all households, experience persistent fuel poverty and a further 165,000, or almost 13% of households, experience intermittent fuel poverty.
The situation is exacerbated by the types of fuels older households use. The ESRI claims it is still predominately home heating oil and it showed that one quarter of all older people did not have central heating compared with 10% of all households. Table 1 in the briefing note circulated gives a breakdown of the types of fuels used by older people.
For 17% of Irish households vulnerable to fuel poverty, the sudden rise in the price of fuel and food is adding a financial burden this winter. Compared with the annual rate of inflation of approximately 4.3%, there have been greater increases in the prices of both food and fuel in the past 12 months ending this September.
The briefing note circulated includes a table setting out the increases in the prices of a variety of foods and fuels. For example, the price of bread is up 16.7%, milk is up 25.7% and tea is up 6.8%. As for fuels, liquid fuels are up 34%, natural gas is up 10.1% and electricity is up 11.2%, with further price rises due at the beginning of next year.
The Government's current allowances for electricity and gas are welcome but there is concern that some people are not using all their allowances. The Government should take action to tackle fuel poverty by promoting greater use of these allowances and a range of other measures to promote energy efficiency.
Turning to the question of who is at risk. Those most affected by housing energy inefficiencies tend to be the most vulnerable in society, thus linking them to poorer health and higher morbidity and mortality. Sustainable Energy Ireland reported that the highest level of fuel poverty occurred in households without dependent children, single person households, people living in dwellings built between 1940 and 1979, owner-occupier households and people on annual incomes lower than €8,888. Many older people are affected by more than one of these factors.
The second group most at risk of fuel poverty in Ireland comprises lone male pensioners, of whom 11%, or 3,700, experience fuel poverty. The proportion is lower for lone female pensioners, 7.8%, but the number, 4,600, is higher. A total of 17.4%, or 13,300, of households dependent on social welfare payments, including the majority of State pensioners, are at risk of fuel poverty.
The type of household dwelling is also a factor, with those living in semi-detached or terraced houses more likely to experience fuel poverty compared with those in other types of dwelling, according to a European survey. Houses built between 1940 and 1979 have been identified as particularly at risk of fuel poverty. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul found that 50% of those experiencing fuel poverty lived in older homes and this includes a large proportion of older people. Older houses can be more prone to damp and structural problems and require greater maintenance. A higher proportion of older people are also homeowners, 93% of older couples and 81% of older people living alone. A higher recorded number of owner-occupiers experience fuel poverty. Some 6.6% of older people are local authority tenants and fewer than 3% are private tenants.
The most serious impact of fuel poverty for older people is the excess of deaths in winter. Unfortunately, there is a paucity of information on the extent of seasonal mortality in Ireland. This is an area which requires urgent attention and further research. We know, based on the figures from the 1990s, that there are between 1,500 and 2,000 excess winter deaths each year. Research shows that despite a relatively mild winter, we experience one of the highest variations in seasonal mortality in Europe, ranking behind colder northern European countries such as Denmark and Luxembourg. As part of a strategy to eliminate the number of unnecessary winter deaths, yearly monitoring of excess winter deaths needs to be carried out to target resources at those groups most at risk.
The documentation we supplied includes a table indicating the percentage of winter deaths over non-winter deaths for the period from 1988 to 1997. Other research estimated that 50% of cardiovascular disease and 57% of respiratory disease in Ireland is associated with poor housing. These illnesses accounted for 44% of all deaths during the period 1988 to 1997.
Where do we go from here? Tackling excess winter deaths and fuel poverty means being fuel efficient. This does not just relate to insulating homes, but also ensuring that all homes have adequate central heating systems. Currently, there are a number of energy efficient programmes available, such as the warmer homes scheme, the remedial works scheme for local authority rented dwellings, and housing aid for older people, administered by the HSE until last year, but now run by the local authorities.
Of the 227,000 households experiencing some form of fuel poverty, 3,700 have availed of the SEI warm home scheme in 11 counties at a cost of €4.3 million. We need to ensure that these schemes are available equitably, irrespective of where a person lives, and that they are adequately funded. It is acknowledged that heating a thermally inefficient home is a poor investment. Therefore, a long-term strategy is needed to improve energy efficiency in all older people's homes.
The media focus should be on the needs of the many older people at risk of fuel poverty this winter. Prior to yesterday's budget, the current fuel allowance of €18 covered 42% of the weekly cost of fuel, based on the 2008 Vincentian partnership figures for the minimum essential budget. To bring this weekly payment to an acceptable 70% of the weekly cost of fuel, which we recommend, would require an increase of €11.66 per week, bringing the payment to €29.66 or €30 per week. This would cost €108 million annually, based on an estimate for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. A similar scheme operating in the UK is the cold-winter payment, which is a once-off payment of £25 sterling when the average temperature where a person lives falls to 0° Celsius or below for seven consecutive days.
Another issue relating to fuel poverty is the proposed carbon tax. This tax is intended to reduce energy related CO2 emissions. It is expected that low income households will, proportionately, be most penalised by this tax as they tend to use more carbon intensive fuels and inefficient heating systems. The Combat Poverty Agency has put forward the suggestion that revenue raised from the introduction of a carbon tax should be used to tackle fuel poverty by redistributing resources towards low-income households. We would also like to see a one-off payment for older people to cushion them from the one-off cost of switching to low-energy light bulbs. While there are savings in the long run, the initial investment is considerable for those on a fixed low income.
Ireland does not have a fuel poverty strategy and, therefore, we do not have set targets to tackle fuel poverty. To compare with other countries, England aims to end fuel poverty in vulnerable households by 2010 and in all households by 2016. Scotland hopes to eliminate fuel poverty by 2016. The Welsh hope to eliminate fuel poverty in vulnerable households by 2010 and in all households by 2018. In Northern Ireland, the aim is to eliminate fuel poverty within vulnerable households by 2010 and all households by 2016.
