Elderly take to bed as ‘heating season’ cut

Elderly people are going to bed early and staying there later in the morning to try and keep warm without a fuel allowance to fund their heating bills.

Wind and rain battered the country this week, with temperatures dropping to three degrees in weather described by some as more wintry than we had experienced all year.

However, fuel allowances were cut three weeks ago for those on social welfare as part of Budget 2012, which reduced the “heating season” from 32 weeks to 26 weeks of the year. According to the Department of Social Protection, the “heating season” will not begin again until Oct 8.

The Society of St Vincent de Paul and advocacy group Age Action Ireland described the cuts as “unfair” and “frustrating”. Age Action was contacted by pensioners confused “as to why their pension had suddenly been cut”.

Age Action spokesman Eamon Timmins pointed out that in many badly insulated homes, an open fire burns year-round. A large proportion of these houses were built pre-1950 and are owned by the elderly.

“It is alarming and very frustrating. At the time of the budget, we questioned how the Government could decide when winter would end, and this past week just underlined that point as it was so wintry,” Mr Timmins said.

“In a great many Irish homes, the open fire never stops burning as there is no other form of heating and the houses are badly insulated. The cutting of this allowance once again demonstrates the lack of understanding amongst Government for the plight of the most vulnerable,” he said.

St Vincent de Paul’s southern president Brendan Dempsey said: “What this cut has meant is that people will pay for fuel this week out of their basic welfare payment, which means something else won’t be paid. If they don’t do this, they will go cold and many will have no choice but this.”

“It is incredible to think that people are facing these further cuts at a time when one in five Irish children are already going to school or bed hungry. Yet this same Government are able to find the money to pay advisers telephone number salaries.

“Why does austerity always have to come from the bottom up? Money is like confetti to those who govern us, yet it is a matter of life and death for the people at the bottom.”