Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

That is really important information about the heating supplement being paid outside of the winter months. How many families are aware of that? For example, if you take the figure of two out of every five families in the country being cast into energy poverty several months ago, I imagine some sort of awareness campaign is needed so people know there are supports. I accept there are supports. I do not think anybody here willingly or wantonly has cast people into energy poverty but such is the experience in family homes at the moment, they are still struggling to play catch-up with debt. That is an important initiative. There needs to be a public awareness campaign to let people know there are supports available. We also need to get in front of the issue. I believe that last week, Friends of the Earth, with which the Minister of State will be familiar, referenced that the grants were skewed towards wealthier households, with the €600 payment he mentioned being universal rather than targeted, which meant that people who suffered at the coldest end were not able to access payments to meet their full energy needs. Awareness campaigns are needed and greater targeted investments and income supports are required to alleviate what was a drastic winter for many.

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