Fears fuel poverty will cause more elderly to die

More elderly people could die in Ireland because of rising energy costs and the reduction in fuel allowance, a health expert has warned.

Dr Anne O’Farrell, from the HSE’s Health Intelligence Unit, said the increase in fuel prices, together with the reduction of the fuel allowance from 32 weeks to 26, could carry long-term social and health costs.

Dr O’Farrell, a speaker at Energy Action’s Fuel Poverty conference in Dublin Castle yesterday, said more than one in five households in Ireland received the fuel allowance last year.