Soaring living costs forcing people to cut back on heating and food, warns SVP

More than half of all renters are worried about their ability to pay their rent, SVP's The Cost of Surviving report found.
The soaring cost of living is hitting the disadvantaged the hardest, with the St Vincent de Paul charity saying 37% of people have cut back on essential heating and electricity use, and 17% have cut back on other essentials including food.
A survey of more than 1,000 people conducted for the charity found that the number of people struggling financially has doubled since before pandemic, while almost half of renters are worried about their ability to pay their rent in the next six months.
The Red C poll found that:
- 37% of people have cut back on essential heating and electricity use, and 17% have cut back on other essentials such as food;
- 48% of unemployed people have cut back on essential heating and electricity;
- a quarter of renters in both private accommodation and local authority housing have cut back on essentials such as food in response to rising energy prices;
- 61% of renters in local authority housing have cut back on essential heating and electricity.
Vulnerable sections of society, such as one-parent families, are also feeling the impact, the charity said.
The poll found that 47% of single parents have cut back on essential heating and electricity, and 37% have cut back on other essentials like food.
It also found that two-thirds of lone parents are worried about their ability to meet their household energy costs in the next six months, and that 44% of people in this category are worried about their ability to meet their housing costs.
That sense of worry is pervasive across many of those polled, with almost 40% of people worried or quite worried about their ability to meet their household energy costs, and a quarter worried about their ability to meet their housing costs, whether it be rent or mortgage.
More than half of all renters are worried about their ability to pay their rent, with 9% already behind on their rent and 29% worried about facing eviction in the next six months.
The findings are included in a new report published today called The Cost of Surviving.
SVP head of social justice and policy Tricia Keilthy stated: “The importance of this research is that it explores the depth of financial worry and concern across every cohort of the population.
"Cutting back on essentials like food, going into debt, or using savings to pay bills is common. Unsurprising, these groups also had significant worries about their financial situation for the next six months as their ability to meet their housing and energy costs comes under considerable strain.
“It is also important to remember that better-off families tended to build up their savings during the pandemic, providing a shock absorber for rising prices, but lower-income families have no saving and are already in debt."
Dr Keilthy said prior to the pandemic many people already faced difficult choices, with an estimated 800,000 people experiencing enforced deprivation in 2020.
But she said the situation is now even more acute.
The SVP has made a list of recommendations to address the issue, including an extension of the fuel allowance for at least an additional four weeks, the setting up of a discretionary fund to support households with extra living expenses and utility costs, and a rent arrears fund between Department of Social Protection and the Department of Housing to help prevent a rise in homelessness.