Demand for fuel aid triples to €10m, says SVP

Gas and electricity companies can count the St Vincent de Paul as one of their best customers, with the charity paying more than €10m a year to keep homes lit and warm for families in poverty.

The charity said that the volume of requests it received for help to get the power back on in cut-off households was “unsustainable”, with demand almost tripling in just three years to at least €10.4m.

SVP pointed out that the winter fuel allowance, which the Department of Social Protection will begin paying next Monday, will only barely cover the increase in fuel prices consumers have had to contend with since 2011.

Brendan Hennessy of SVP said that cumulative gas and electricity prices rises since 2011 had added €500 to the average household energy bill so the weekly fuel allowance of €20, which runs for 26 weeks, is wiped out.

“The need in Irish society is now so great that more people are approaching SVP because they cannot afford basics like the cost of energy,” said Mr Hennessy. “This is an unsustainable situation for Ireland and an unsustainable cost for SVP.”

The SVP is warning against cuts in the fuel allowance as part of its campaign to end austerity budgets, and wants a big push on the State’s slow-moving scheme of retrofitting homes with energy-saving insulation and draught-proofing to help cut fuel bills.

Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore indicated that this could be on the cards as he hinted that the budget may include further incentives for homeowners. Mr Gilmore has held talks with party colleague and Energy Minister Pat Rabbitte about encouraging more to take up the insulation schemes.

“We are going to drive this to see to it that more homes are retrofitted and have a greater degree of energy efficiency which has the benefit of bringing down the cost of heating a home and of energy for households,” he said.

However, he also warned there was little that could be done about the recurrent price rises which he said were influenced by international events. “We are at the end of a very long pipeline from Russia,” he said.

Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald said the impact in homes was devastating. “I have met young mothers who have gone without gas or electricity,” she said. “I have spoken to fathers hit by wage cuts and tax hikes who have seen their arrears spiral out of control. Many of these families were forced to make a choice between feeding their children or paying their energy bills.”

Fianna Fáil said the Government’s response to the issue was shameful. The party’s energy spokesman, Michael Moynihan, said: “Minister Joan Burton cut the fuel allowance by six weeks in last year’s budget. Families now only receive the payment for 26 weeks per year.

“Alongside that, Minister Pat Rabbitte has been asleep at the wheel and allowed the Commission for Energy Regulation oversee three increases in Bord Gáis prices in two years. This is a shocking indictment of the Labour Party and a betrayal of the values they purport to stand for.”