Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 October 2014
88. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to the persistence of fuel poverty here; if she will enhance the fuel allowance in order to combat this poverty; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39804/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government will continue to ensure that those on low incomes and those who are more vulnerable to energy poverty are supported through the household benefits package and the fuel allowance. The Department will spend €230 million this year on the household benefits package for almost 415,000 customers. The fuel allowance, worth €520 per year, is paid for 26 weeks from October to April to almost 415,000 households at an estimated cost of €208 million in 2014.
This compares favourably with the winter fuel payment for the elderly in Northern Ireland which ranges from £100 (€126) to £300 (€379) per year depending on age and household composition. There is no equivalent in Northern Ireland to the free electricity allowance.
The Government has already announced that from 2015 both the household benefits package and the fuel allowance will also include a water support payment with an annual value of €100. The estimated cost of this new water support payment of €100 per annum will be in the region of €66 million in 2015.
I am confident that these measures will continue to meet the needs of those most in need.
The Government’s affordable energy strategy “Warmer Homes” indicated that the best measure to address energy poverty is to continue to improve the thermal efficiency of people’s homes. The “better energy warmer homes” scheme delivers a range of energy efficiency measures to low income households that are vulnerable to energy poverty at no charge to the householder. Since 2000, when the scheme began, over 105,000 homes around the country have received energy efficiency measures under the warmer homes scheme, with a total spend of over €116 million. The warmer homes scheme is expected to upgrade another 12,000 households by the end of 2014.
