Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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I share the Deputy's concerns about the risks of fuel poverty in the current economic climate. The proposal over the period of the national recovery plan to double the price of carbon from €15 to €30 per tonne underlines the commitment to actions to reduce emissions and mitigate climate change. It was decided not to increase the carbon tax rate in 2011 because of other tax increases faced by householders. The carbon tax will be increased on a phased basis in 2012-14. The Government has been, and remains, fully committed to protecting vulnerable households from energy poverty.

Such poverty is caused by the interaction between energy prices, thermal inefficiency of the home and low income. Government action to mitigate energy poverty has focused on providing assistance through the Department of Social Protection and, critically, providing energy efficiency upgrades to low-income, or at risk households, under the warmer homes scheme. Payments under the fuel allowance scheme will be around €230 million this year. The electricity and gas allowances under the household benefits package will cost around €226 million this year. Overall, therefore, the Government is spending over €450 million on relieving fuel poverty this year. This is considerably more than the UK and other European countries.

The warmer homes scheme was established to systematically address poor thermal efficiency performance of low-income housing. The scheme provides attic insulation, draught proofing, lagging jackets, energy efficient lighting, cavity wall insulation and energy advice at no cost to eligible households. These measures significantly reduce the amount of energy required to heat and light the home, thus bringing benefits to recipients in terms of energy affordability, health improvements and overall comfort.

Since 2007, I have steadily increased the funding year on year to the warmer homes scheme. This has enabled the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland to deliver an ever increasing number of upgrades. In 2007, 3,378 homes were retrofitted. The following year, 2008, this increased to 5,343. In 2009, I again delivered increased funding, enabling 19,126 homes to benefit from energy efficiency measures. This year, I provided funding to deliver a target for the scheme of 22,500 homes. This target is set to be exceeded by year end.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

Already 20,711 homes under the scheme have been completed by a network of private contractors and community-based organisations that stretch into every county in Ireland.

The increased level of disconnections is a concern for the Government, the Commission for Energy Regulation, CER, and energy suppliers. I am satisfied that all energy suppliers have put in place codes of practice setting out the steps to be taken before initiating a disconnection. This includes working with the customer and putting in place a payment plan, or working with a third party who may be acting on the customers behalf. There are also specific legal protections for vulnerable customers, which include prohibiting electricity suppliers from disconnecting elderly customers in winter months.

The CER has just published its decisions on disconnection charges and on how the costs of disconnection are allocated between suppliers and customers. I welcome these developments. Measures to protect vulnerable customers from disconnection, high energy bills and thermally inefficient housing will be set out in the proposed affordable energy strategy. I expect the strategy to be submitted to me shortly, with a view to bringing it to Government in the coming weeks.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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That strategy will be presented within the coming weeks. It has been completed in my Department and we have to work within time lines with the Department of Social Protection and at Government level before publishing it. We will do that. I fully understand and accept what the Deputy is saying. In this very cold weather this issue is of critical importance, and I sympathise and have a sense of what those families are going through. That is why something like €450 million has been provided to try to help such families in such difficulty. Retrofitting 22,000 homes to ensure they do not have to use as much fuel is a critical and real response. Furthermore, the disconnections policy issue, which was raised at an Oireachtas committee, will be changed, with a different approach to be taken to ensure people are not inappropriately cut off and that the cost is not fully borne by the householder. We recognise this is an issue that must be tackled through a series of measures, including buildings, low incomes and disconnection policies so that people are not moved from a difficult to a worse situation.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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It is critical that we target people in receipt of fuel allowances because they are the ones in extreme poverty.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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It is right that the warmer homes scheme targets these people. Also, this scheme has been increased ten-fold since the coming into Office of the Green Party. I have outlined how further funding can be provided and, a more effective way of delivering it by using the ESB, Bord Gáis and other energy companies to continue that work. Keeping heat in is the best way to tackle fuel poverty. This is the most useful thing we can do to ensure people's homes are warmer. I am committed to ramping up this scheme through the provision of further funding. Deputy McManus is correct that we must target this area.

We must address this issue in the context not only of people in receipt of the fuel allowance but for those involved in other social welfare schemes. We must recognise the energy performance of buildings as being the key metric and must use our regulatory and social welfare provisions to make improvements in this area and to ensure private landlords upgrade their houses so that those in rented accommodation who are in fuel poverty are least affected.