Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Question 197: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs her plans to tackle the increasing risk of fuel poverty in view of significant increases in unemployment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46367/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The Department's role is to assist social welfare recipients with heating costs, both through their basic payments and through the fuel allowance scheme and the household benefits package of electricity and gas allowances. These schemes have been improved significantly in recent years.

The national fuel allowance scheme assists householders on long-term social welfare or health service executive (HSE) payments with meeting the cost of their heating needs during the winter season. The allowance represents a contribution towards a person's normal heating expenses. It is not intended to meet those costs in full. Fuel allowance is payable for 32 weeks a year, up from 30 weeks a year in 2007. The standard allowance is €20 a week while the rate in smokeless zones is €23.90 a week, up by €2 a week from 2008. The scheme benefits almost 320,000 people a year at an estimated cost of €217 million in 2009.

Electricity and gas allowances under the household benefits package, are payable throughout the year to almost 380,000 pensioners, people with disabilities, and carer households towards their heating, light and cooking costs at an estimated cost of €200m in 2009. The electricity allowance covers standing charges plus VAT and up to 2,400 units of electricity in each billing period, increased from 1,800 units in January 2007. The gas allowance covers a cash equivalent amount. The supplementary welfare allowance scheme can also be used to assist people in certain circumstances with specific heating needs due to infirmity or a particular medical condition.

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, throughout the year. Since December 2001, overall inflation has increased by 19% while energy product prices have increased by over 50%. However, increases in social welfare payments have been between 78% and 95% in the same period.

Any improvement to social welfare programmes to assist with heating costs would have considerable cost implications and would have to be considered in the light of resources available for improvements in social welfare payments generally. Income support is only part of the answer in terms of addressing fuel poverty. Proper household insulation is absolutely vital. Initiatives such as the Warmer Homes Scheme, operated by Sustainable Energy Ireland, under the aegis of the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources have a very valuable role to play in that regard, as does funding from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to improve the quality of existing local authority housing.

The Government is committed to protecting vulnerable households from the impact of energy costs through a combination of supports, investment in improving the energy efficiency of the housing stock and the availability of advice such as "The Keep Well and Warm booklet" and accompanying associated website. Some 132,000 copies of the booklet have been distributed in 2009.

The Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources has overarching responsibility for the energy portfolio and has convened an inter- Departmental/Agency Group on Affordable Energy, co-chaired by the Social Inclusion Division of the Department of Social and Family Affairs, to coordinate and drive Government policy in this area. The Group includes officials of the departments of the Taoiseach, Finance, Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Health and Children, the Commission for Energy Regulation, Sustainable Energy Ireland, the ESB and Bord Gais. The objective is to ensure shared understanding of the challenges and actions underway and to ensure a fully cohesive strategic approach to delivery of affordable energy initiatives and programmes. The Inter Departmental/Agency Group has been asked to draw up an Energy Affordability Strategy for consultation by January 2010. This strategy will set out existing and future approaches to addressing energy affordability.

The Group will report to the Cabinet Committee on Social Inclusion, Children and Integration and the Cabinet Committee on Climate Change and Energy Security Infrastructure.