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.