People 'afraid to open their energy bills' in case they can't pay

According to the CSO, electricity prices have gone up 20.5%, gas rose 14.2% and liquid fuels such as home heating oil rose by 45.7%. File photo: Dan Linehan

Three-quarters of people are concerned about rises in the cost of living according to a new Sinn Féin survey.

The CSO, earlier this month, published data showing that inflation in Ireland rose 3.7% in the 12 months to the end of September, the sharpest rise since 2008.

According to Eurostat, consumer price inflation was 5.1% in October. This is the highest since 2003.

A Sinn Féin survey, which the party says received 14,000 responses, shows that 76% of people said they are very concerned about the cost of living with a further 19% saying they are quite concerned by it. Some 77% of people said that rises in the cost of living have had a negative impact on their mental health, while 98% of people said that they believe the government is not doing enough to tackle the increased costs.

According to the CSO, electricity prices have gone up 20.5%, gas rose 14.2% and liquid fuels such as home heating oil rose by 45.7%. In terms of transport, the cost of petrol and diesel has also risen by around 15% in the past year. 

The cost of accommodation services such as hotels has also risen by 9.7%.

This govt is out of ideas & out of time. As energy bills soar this winter, they reject Sinn Féin's call to cut utility bills by waiving the VAT and scrapping Carbon Tax increases. What alternatives have they to reduce these costs for workers & families? None!
– @MaryLouMcDonald pic.twitter.com/fQaAbNDuDA

— Sinn Féin (@sinnfeinireland) November 24, 2021

Sinn Féin's Social Protection spokesperson Claire Kerrane said that the results of the survey show that more needs to be done on a governmental level.

"Pensioners spoke of being afraid to open their energy bills, as they knew they wouldn’t be able to pay them. Workers spoke of being forced to choose between buying food or filling up a tank of petrol."

Ms Kerrane's proposals include a removal of VAT on energy bills, which the Taoiseach today said "cannot be done", a scrapping of carbon tax increases, a discretionary fund aimed at helping homeowners with fuel costs and the abolition of third-level fees.