25 Jun 2008
The Institute of Public Health in Ireland (IPH) today called for the formation of an Inter-Departmental Group on Fuel Poverty to enable the development of a fuel poverty strategy in Ireland.
Presenting the IPH’s Position Paper on fuel poverty today to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social and Family Affairs the Institute said while there is a general commitment to addressing fuel poverty, there is no clear leadership and no structure for co-ordination.
Central Statistics Office figures to May 2008 show an 11% increase in the cost of home fuels in the past year. IPH Senior Policy Advisor, Dr. Helen McAvoy said that in an era of rising fuel prices and increases in the number of vulnerable households comprising people living alone, older people and lone parent families, government leadership on this issue could not be more urgent.
“In the absence of a designated structure fuel poverty is falling between a number of stools and the formation of an Inter-Departmental Fuel Poverty Group, similar to the model in place in Northern Ireland, is necessary to tackle this problem.
“The Inter-Departmental Group should be government-led and co-ordinate activities between government departments in terms of the implementation of social welfare, energy and housing policies relevant to fuel poverty. This would allow for consideration of the social consequences of measures such as carbon taxes.
“The terms of reference of such a group should also encompass the development of a system to monitor fuel poverty and its effects and report these to the Office of Social Inclusion.
The IPH’s call was supported by a number of other key organisations also concerned about the high levels of fuel poverty in Ireland including the Combat Poverty Agency, Sustainable Energy Ireland, the Society of the St. Vincent de Paul and Age Action Ireland.
The IPH’s presentation to the Joint Oireachtas Committee follows publication of its All-Ireland Policy Paper on Fuel Poverty last December. This showed that the island of Ireland has among the highest levels of excess winter mortality in Europe, with an estimated 2,800 more deaths over the winter months. Studies have estimated that 44% of excess winter deaths in Ireland are directly associated with poor housing standards.
Dr. McAvoy added that, once established, the Inter-Departmental group would then be in a position to develop a fuel poverty strategy for the Republic of Ireland, analogous to that in Northern Ireland, This would ensure that the needs of fuel-poor householders would be met in the future.
Fuel poverty occurs when people live in cold, damp, and thermally inefficient houses and is defined as when a household needs to spend more than 10% of their income on energy in order to maintain an acceptable level of heat throughout their home.
The Northern Ireland Fuel Poverty Strategy, published in 2004, has committed to eliminate fuel poverty by 2020. As part of this the prevalence of fuel poverty is monitored every few years.
In the Republic of Ireland there is no systematic monitoring of fuel poverty. Studies have indicated that 227,000 Irish homes (18.4%) experienced fuel poverty in 2001. The highest prevalence of fuel poverty in Ireland is recorded among lone parents.
It is a particularly worrying aspect of child poverty on the island when one in five lone parent households in Ireland are unable to afford adequate warmth in their homes.
Ends
Further Information
Arlene McKay, IPH Communications Officer: +44 (0)2890 648494
NOTES TO EDITORS
The Institute of Public Health in Ireland is an all-island body which aims to combat health inequalities and influence public policy in favour of health. Its remit is to promote co-operation for public health between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland including the areas of monitoring and surveillance. Further information can be accessed at
www.publichealth.ie
