Energy allowance - Don’t cut supplies

St Vincent de Paul has warned that there is no room in this year’s budget for further cuts in the winter fuel allowance. In reality it has already been eaten away by inflation.

The Government reduced the allowance last year by six weeks, to 26 weeks, on top of savage price increases of recent years. The cost of energy to the average household rose by €500 over the past three years, with the result that the fuel allowance is no longer adequate to the cover price rises in gas and electricity.

SVP has almost tripled its fuel assistance to Irish families. With more and more people turning to SVP for help, its resources are already stretched to the limit.

“Every year hundreds of people over the age of 65 die because of lack of adequate heat,” Mary Lou McDonald stated in the Dáil this week. If that was an exaggeration, the Government should refute it with the actual figure. This should not be a hidden problem. There is no further room for cutting supplies to the most vulnerable.