Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise the launch of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Impossible Choices appeal because we are in no doubt now that winter has finally arrived in Ireland with freezing temperatures being felt throughout the country. This is at a time when inflation and rents are rising and energy costs are skyrocketing. In its report released today the Society of St. Vincent de Paul said it is expecting as many as 200,000 calls to its organisation by the end of the year. It is talking to people who face the impossible choice of heating their home, paying their rent and putting food on the table. One in four people it has spoken to are cutting back on food and utilities.

The St. Vincent de Paul appeal comes on the back of another report that came out recently from the Free Legal Aid Advice Centres, FLAC, the Pillar to Post report, which warned of rising household debt that has built up over the pandemic. At least 36,000 payment breaks have been granted during the pandemic but due to a lack of data that might just be the tip of the iceberg. We need emergency measures to address the perfect storm we now face this winter. Sinn Féin called for a discretionary fund to be put in place to help people with their heating bills. This was rejected by the Government. We were told that the budget would increase the eligibility criteria for the fuel allowance. However, the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, has confirmed to my colleague, Deputy Kerrane, that that will only benefit 4,500 households and will not come into effect until 1 January.However, the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, confirmed to my colleague, Deputy Kerrane, that the increase in eligibility criteria will only benefit 4,500 households and will not come into effect until 1 January. People need help now. They need to heat their homes now. The impact of energy poverty on households is not just about discomfort, it has real long-term consequences. There are nearly 3,000 deaths a year related to fuel poverty on this island and children who grow up in poorly heated homes are more likely to develop respiratory diseases and have prolonged absences from school and, therefore, poorer outcomes in their overall life. However, we still have no energy poverty strategy from this Government. The last such strategy lapsed in 2019. Where is the urgency to address what is happening in this country right now with rising energy bills and poverty?

It is all well and good to tell people to stop burning solid fuels but often, when one lives from week to week, the only way to manage one's budget is to burn solid fuels. Sometimes that is wood collected from laneways, as was reported in the survey I did, or wood taken from skips to heat a home. That is how people are heating their homes right now.

While I commend the Society of St. Vincent de Paul for the launch of its appeal and I would encourage anyone to donate to the organisation, it cannot be an excuse to allow the Government off the hook when it comes to energy poverty. We need to hear from the Minister for Environment, Climate an Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan. We should have a debate on the subject. Where is the energy poverty strategy? What are we doing to help those households who cannot afford to heat their homes right now?