Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 330: To ask the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 46 of 20 July 2011, if the poverty impact assessment referred to specifically examine the impact of the changes to the household benefits package scheme that are scheduled to take effect from September 2011; if not, the reason she did not arrange for a poverty impact assessment of the changes to be undertaken prior to her decision. [23165/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The poverty impact assessment referred to in the previous Parliamentary Question was carried out in the context of developing a range of options for the future administration of the household benefits package in a de-regulated domestic energy market. While this focused on the potential impact of changing the electricity allowance from a unit base to a cash base to avail of cheaper rates available it also examined the issue of the vulnerability of older people who are the main recipients of the household benefits package.

Data for the 2009 EU Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) show that households comprising predominantly older people had lower consistent poverty rates than other age categories. Single adults aged over 65 with no children had a consistent poverty rate of 0.6% while people in households with 2 adults at least one of whom was aged 65 or over with no children had a consistent poverty rate of 1.0%. In 2009, in the general population, 5.5% of people were in consistent poverty. Given the low consistent poverty rate, it was considered that the information gathered in the existing poverty impact assessment was sufficient.

While of course we want to protect the basic social welfare payments which have very positive economic and social effects, regrettably there is an ongoing necessity to achieve savings due to our commitments with the IMF/EU/ECB Troika. There will be an ongoing necessity to curtail overall expenditure in 2012 and in later years. My Department will spend over 530 million in 2011 on the fuel scheme and the telephone, gas and electricity elements of the household benefits package which will benefit over 630,000 people.

Energy poverty is a factor of income, energy prices and the thermal efficiency of the home. The most cost-effective means of protecting households from energy poverty is to reduce their consumption of energy through improving the thermal efficiency of the home. Sustainable Energy Ireland has administered an energy efficiency programme for privately owned low income households (Warmer Homes) since 2001. Over 65,000 such households have benefited to date, with a further 15,000 expected to receive energy efficiency upgrades this year. A similar upgrade programme is also in place for local authority houses.