Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 105: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he has plans to develop a national fuel poverty strategy to tackle fuel poverty here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5524/08]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Fuel poverty has been described as the inability to afford adequate warmth in a home, or the inability to achieve adequate warmth because of the energy inefficiency of the home. The primary contributory factor to fuel poverty is the low energy efficiency of parts of the private and public housing stock. Such problems relate mainly to older housing with poor insulation and draught-proofing or inefficient heating systems. All new housing, including social housing, is being built to modern energy efficiency standards. Local housing authorities are undertaking an ongoing programme, including draught insulation and energy efficiency, to upgrade the older social housing stock and provide better living conditions generally for tenants.

My Department is co-operating with a number of organisations, including Sustainable Energy Ireland, the Combat Poverty Agency and the Department of the Environment Heritage and Local Government, in an action research project to review the effectiveness of Sustainable Energy Ireland's warmer homes scheme. The 2006 budget made a grant of €2 million available to Sustainable Energy Ireland to undertake a fuel poverty research project. The reports on these fuel research projects will help to inform Government policy on fuel poverty.

The main role of the social welfare system in this issue is to provide income supports. Government policy in recent years has focused on increasing primary social welfare rates significantly to ensure that people on social welfare can meet their basic living costs, including heating costs, throughout the year. Since December 2001, overall inflation has increased by 24% while energy product prices have increased by 56%. However, increases in social welfare payments have been between 71% and 88% in the same period.

In addition to primary payments, there are a number of social welfare programmes to assist with heating costs, specifically the national fuel allowance scheme, the household benefits package and the special heating needs supplement. These arrangements too have been improved in recent years. The Department will continue to co-operate with other Departments and agencies on fuel poverty research as appropriate. However, the main focus will be to increase social welfare payments in real terms to enable social welfare recipients to better meet heating and other needs.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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The Minister's answer shows a need for a national fuel poverty strategy. I appreciate that the Minister said there are two research projects going on in this area and that is important, but we have many statistics on this already. I presume the Minister agrees that levels of fuel poverty remain unacceptably high. The island of Ireland has one of the highest mortality rates for winter months in Europe with approximately 2,800 excess deaths during the winter months. While I do not suggest they are all related to fuel poverty, it is a significant part of the problem. There are strong links between low income, unemployment and fuel poverty, particularly among pensioners and low-income parents.

Despite having research projects, will the Minister examine the idea of a national strategy? His answer mentioned consultation with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and that is important. However, the Minister for Social and Family Affairs taking responsibility for the amount paid every year and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government looking at other areas leads to an unco-ordinated approach. There have been improvements in local authority housing but that is where people have not bought out the local authority housing. A large number of people who have bought them out are still caught in the trap because the amount of grant availability to improve one's house is insufficient. Following the publication of the research projects, will the Minister give any thought to having a strategy?

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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For Deputies with responsibility for the Department of Social and Family Affairs and the people we deal with, this issue, among many others, is always a major concern and we do all we can through our responsibilities in supporting people to meet their needs. As I said, there is an historical problem with the quality of much of the housing stock in both the public and private sectors, and it needs to be substantially upscaled and improved. From my time in the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, I know a large amount of resources is being spent through the Department and the local authorities which are best placed to do work on these houses. Examples include the new windows and insulation which have been fitted and which have transformed many of these homes and made them much warmer and more efficient for a lower cost to the people living there.

The role of the Department of Social and Family Affairs is to provide the financial supports to assist people who find themselves in need and my job is to increase as much as I can those figures on an annual basis to meet those needs when the resources are available. We are working with Sustainable Energy Ireland and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, which is the lead Department on the work of maintaining and improving policy. My Department is involved but is not the lead Department. I want to be clear on our role. However, we work with Sustainable Energy Ireland and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to ensure we can resolve this issue.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Despite not being the lead Minister, does the Minister, Deputy Cullen, not see that there is a gap? Gas prices have risen by 70% in the past five years, electricity by 30% and oil by 50%. Elderly people in particular cannot afford the €12,000 cost of installing a wood pellet burner or the more environmentally friendly, cost-efficient products out there. They are only for people who can afford them. Does the Minister not see that we need greater co-ordination between two Departments and that a strategy would be a better way to do it?

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I have no difficulty working with the other Departments and I have indicated where we are working with them. In 2000, the expenditure on the fuel allowance was €55.5 million and this year it was €167 million so from my Department's point of view the costs have risen dramatically.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Many people are still in fuel poverty.

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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More than 286,000 people benefit from this provision. The other packages cost over €300 million, such as the wider heating supply for electricity in other units in the family home.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Over 250,000 homes are in fuel poverty.

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The contribution from my Department to the general area of facilitating people to heat their homes and live a comfortable life is close to €500 million per year, which is a substantial amount of money.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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The problem is not solved as a result of that spend.

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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While I accept the problem is not solved, we have come a long way for many of these people through the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government system.