On 13 December 2022 Government approved a new Energy Poverty Action Plan.
The plan provides, inter alia, for the establishment of a €10 million fund to further support people in, or at risk of, energy poverty this winter and into 2023. This is in addition to the existing sources of support, such as the supplier hardship funds or the Additional Needs Payment scheme operated by the Department of Social Protection. The objective of the new fund is to provide a further safeguard to help people who may not be able to access other sources of assistance.
My Department will work with suppliers, relevant public bodies and NGOs to provide financial support to citizens experiencing difficulties meeting their energy costs this winter, including Pay As You Go gas and electricity customers. The new fund will be available to bolster hardship funds which most suppliers have in place. People are advised to engage with their suppliers directly or contact the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) or ALONE, who can advocate on their behalf to suppliers.
Currently my Department is considering a range of options to target this fund to vulnerable groups including those in mobile homes.
The Energy Poverty Action Plan also sets out the actions the Government has already put in place to tackle energy poverty and help people to pay their energy bills as part of the wider cost of living crisis. These measures include:
- the three €200 energy credits, totalling €1.2 billion in supports, which will be made to all domestic electricity accounts by the end of April 2023
- the additional lump sum Fuel Allowance Payment of €400, bringing the total allowance for winter 2022/2023 to €1,324
- strengthened consumer-protection measures mandated by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU), including an extension of the annual moratorium on disconnections.
