Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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1281. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his Department’s estimate of the percentage and number of households and the corresponding number of persons living in energy poverty here; the basis on which these figures have been calculated; and the way in which this compares with previous estimates and with rates in comparable countries. [1033/18]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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The Government’s first energy poverty strategy -the Affordable Energy Strategy used the expenditure method of calculating energy poverty. This looks at the proportion of household income (net of housing costs) that is devoted to meeting energy needs. If a household needs to spend more than 10% of their income on energy they are considered to be in energy poverty, with the severity of energy poverty increasing as the proportion of income spent on energy increases. It was calculated in that strategy that slightly over 20% of all households in the State were potentially in energy poverty in 2009. There are limitations to the expenditure method of calculating energy poverty. In particular, analysing what people actually spend on energy may deliver an inadequate picture of energy poverty since many of those in energy poverty may be living in homes that are inadequately heated. The Government’s second, and current Strategy to Combat Energy Poverty2016-2019, was accompanied by the publication of an assessment of the level, and extent, of energy poverty in Ireland using an objective methodology. This methodology looked at modelled fuel expenditure as a proportion of income using Household Budget Survey data adjusted for inflation, data from the BER register and a residential building stock model developed by Element Energy on behalf of SEAI. This was used to estimate the percentage of households in particular categories (e.g. living in detached houses) whose required energy spend (required to keep their home adequately heated) exceeds certain thresholds (10%, 15%, 20%). This analysis which is available at found that 28% of households in Ireland could be in energy poverty, and that social housing and homes heated via oil and solid fuels are more likely to be in energy poverty.

In terms of comparable countries the EU-wide Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) asks respondents whether they were unable to keep their household adequately warm. The latest data from the SILC finds that 5.8% of people surveyed in Ireland reported in 2016 that they were unable to afford to keep the home adequately warm, a decrease on the 2015 figure of 9%. This is below the EU average of 8.7% and slightly below the UK figure of 6.1%. One advantage of using a subjective measure of energy poverty like this question in the SILC is that it is undertaken annually and is conducted EU-wide. This facilitates comparisons across EU states, providing a benchmark for Government efforts in addressing energy poverty. However, self-reported energy poverty may give misleading impressions to policy makers on the extent of energy poverty. The findings of the SILC, and the study for the current Strategy referenced above yield very different results and points to the need for further work to increase our understanding of the extent of energy poverty in Ireland. My Department is planning to undertake this work in 2018.

The EU’s clean energy legislation package, currently under negotiation,will form the basis for energy policy in the EU post 2020. The package includes related proposals on energy poverty, including a requirement on Member States to measure and report on national objectives with regard to energy poverty, as well as the number of households affected by energy poverty. Ireland has been supportive of this proposal. If it is accepted it will mean that there will be more robust measurement of levels of energy poverty. This will facilitate better comparisons across Member States as well as sharing of best practice in how to alleviate it.