Róisín Shortall
Ceist:660 Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs his plans to tackle fuel poverty. [15649/10]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 20 April 2010
Ceisteanna (620)
Freagraí scríofa
The Department of Social and Family Affairs assists social welfare recipients with heating costs both through their basic payments and through the fuel allowance and the household benefits package of electricity and gas allowances. These schemes have been improved significantly in recent years. The household benefits package is payable throughout the year to almost 380,000 pensioners, people with disabilities, and carer households to assist them with their heating, light and cooking costs. This scheme cost approximately €184m in 2009. In addition, the national fuel allowance scheme assists householders on long-term social welfare or health service executive payments with meeting the additional cost of their heating needs during the winter season.
The allowance represents a contribution towards a person's heating expenses. It is not intended to meet those costs in full and must be seen in the context of the overall level of income available to the family. Proper household insulation is absolutely vital in tacking fuel poverty. Initiatives such as the Warmer Homes Scheme, operated by Sustainable Energy Ireland, under the aegis of the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources have a very valuable role to play in that regard, as does funding from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to improve the quality of existing local authority housing and the Housing Adaptation Grants for older people and people with disabilities.
The Government has announced its intention to introduce a carbon tax, which will come into effect on heating products from May 2010 and on solid fuels at a date to be set by commencement order. Before the tax is applied to fuels for home heating, arrangements are being made to assist those most at risk of fuel poverty. In his Carbon Budget Statement, the Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government, outlined details of €130 million in funding for insulation, €76 million of which will be used to assist low income families. The Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources has overarching responsibility for the energy portfolio and has convened an Inter-Departmental/Agency Group on Affordable Energy to coordinate and drive Government policy in this area. The Inter-Departmental/ Agency Group has been asked to draw up an Energy Affordability Strategy. This strategy will set out existing and future approaches to addressing energy affordability and will have regard both to the impact of the carbon tax on low income households and the range of supports outlined above in making its recommendations.