Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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Question 116: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs his views on his Department taking lead responsibility for co-ordinating actions to tackle fuel poverty; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5040/08]

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 149: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs his views on proposed developments outlined in the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion 2007 to 2016 in respect of funding for the warmer homes schemes and supporting fuel poverty research; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5043/08]

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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Question 152: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs when his Department will examine the impact of energy saving proposals on low income families; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5039/08]

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Question 155: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the risk of fuel poverty here rises exponentially when annual household income falls below €30,000 according to Sustainable Energy Ireland, A Review of Fuel Poverty and Low Income Housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5037/08]

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Question 157: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the highest prevalence of fuel poverty is found among lone parents, with one in five of same households unable to afford adequate warmth in their homes; the steps he has taken to address this matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5038/08]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 116, 149, 152, 155 and 157 together.

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 energy efficiency of the private and public housing stock. As such, the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government along with Local Authorities, have primary responsibility for this issue. The main role of the social welfare system in relation to this issue is to provide income support where required. Government policy focus is to increase primary weekly social welfare rates significantly in real terms, to enable pensioners and other vulnerable groups to meet their heating and other basic living costs more adequately throughout the year. Substantial progress has been made in this. Since December 2001, overall inflation has increased by 24% while energy product prices have increased by 56%. 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. As outlined in the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion 2007 to 2016, my Department is cooperating with the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Sustainable Energy Ireland, Combat Poverty Agency and other organisations in an action research project to improve energy efficiency in selected older dwellings and to monitor the outcomes in terms of improved cost efficiency, household comfort and health levels. This project is effectively a review of the effectiveness of Sustainable Energy Ireland's Warmer Homes Scheme.

In addition to this, in Budget 2006, a grant of €2m was made available to Sustainable Energy Ireland to enable further research to be undertaken into fuel poverty issues and this was used to carry out a research project in Waterford city and county which w ill benefit some 400+ owner occupied households. It is expected that initial reports on these fuel research projects will be available by summer 2008 and these will help to inform Government policy in relation to fuel poverty. Income support is the primary concern of my Department and the issue of thermal inefficiency of housing is beyond its remit. My Department will continue to cooperate with other Departments and agencies on fuel poverty research and I will seek to increase social welfare payments in real terms to enable social welfare recipients to meet heating and other needs.