The term "fuel poverty" has been described as the inability to afford adequate warmth in a home, or the inability to achieve adequate warmth because of energy inefficiency in the home.
My Department provides a range of income assistance to householders who are in receipt of long-term social welfare or health board payments and who are unable to provide fully for their own heating needs. A fuel allowance of €9.00 per week is payable to eligible households with an additional €3.90 per week being paid in designated urban smokeless fuel zones, bringing the total amount in those areas to €12.90 per week. These payments are made for the duration of the fuel season which lasts for 29 weeks from the end of September to mid-April each year.
The fuel allowances represent a contribution towards a person's additional heating expenses during the winter season. In addition many households also qualify for electricity and gas allowances through the household benefits package. Expenditure by my Department on fuel, electricity and gas allowances for social welfare and other elderly clients is expected to be nearly €195 million this year.
An important objective of this Government is to provide real increases in payment rates each year for people who depend on social welfare income support, to ensure that they can experience real improvement in their quality of life, including provision of adequate heating. In this regard, the significant increases in primary social welfare payment rates for pensioners and other groups this year and in recent years have improved their income situation considerably in real terms relative to fuel cost increases and to price inflation generally.
I am aware of the research report, Fuel Poverty and Policy in Ireland and the European Union, published in 2003 by the policy institute at Trinity College, Dublin in conjunction with the Combat Poverty Agency. This report indicated that the estimated incidence of fuel poverty in Ireland, while not the highest overall of the countries assessed, was higher than in other northern European countries and that the problem is concentrated in certain social groups, particularly the elderly or those with children and who were living in social housing where insulation and energy efficiency standards were lower than average.
As acknowledged in the report, the primary solution lies in improving the energy efficiency of housing, along with improving the income situation of people who might otherwise experience fuel poverty. Local authorities throughout the country are responsible for undertaking programmes of improvement to the existing social housing stock which help conditions generally for tenants, including draught insulation and energy efficiency. All new social housing is being built to modern energy efficiency standards.
I am aware also that Sustainable Energy Ireland and the Combat Poverty Agency are well advanced with plans to carry out an action research project in designated geographical areas this year, where eligible persons will have an energy audit carried out in their homes.
The energy audit will include energy advice to the household as well as remedial work such as the installation of roof space insulation, draft proofing, fitting of hot water cylinder lagging jackets and energy efficient light bulbs. The project will evaluate the effects of the measures undertaken from the point of view of improved comfort levels, health effects as well as changes in fuel costs and carbon dioxide emissions. The project is due to commence shortly and will involve monitoring the effect of individual remedial works carried out. My Department will keep the results of this project under careful review to assist with the development of future income support policy in this area.