The Institute of Public Health in Ireland (IPH) has called for the Irish government to urgently begin development of a fuel poverty strategy, similar to the model currently in place in Northern Ireland.
The Institute today published an all-Ireland policy paper on fuel poverty and health which presents a range of evidence demonstrating the ill-effects of living in cold, damp houses.
Levels of fuel poverty remain unacceptably high as the island of Ireland has among the highest levels of excess winter mortality in Europe, with an estimated 2,800 more deaths over the winter months. The paper highlights studies which estimate that 44% of excess winter deaths in Ireland are directly associated with poor housing standards.
Fuel poverty occurs when people live in cold, damp, and thermally inefficient houses. Fuel poverty is defined as when a household needs to spend more than 10% of their income on energy in order to maintain an acceptable level of heat throughout their home.
Launching the All-Ireland Policy Paper on Fuel Poverty and Health IPH Senior Policy Officer, Dr. Helen McAvoy, said that “fuel poverty remains an important public health issue on the island and continues to contribute to significant ill-health and social exclusion particularly among vulnerable and low-income households.
“Tackling fuel poverty requires a strategic approach that takes into account a range of issues such as fluctuating fuel prices and the projected rise in numbers of vulnerable households, such as those made up of older people living alone and lone parents,” she said. The full paper is available for download on the IPH website at www.publichealth.ie.
The highest prevalence of fuel poverty in Ireland is recorded among lone parents. It is a particularly worrying aspect of child poverty on the island when one in five lone parent households in Ireland are unable to afford adequate warmth in their homes. In Northern Ireland, households headed by an older person, or a person with a disability seem to be most likely to experience fuel poverty due to lower standards of housing coupled with lower income.
In the Republic of Ireland there is no systematic monitoring of fuel poverty, nor is there an over-riding fuel poverty strategy. Studies have indicated that 227,000 Irish homes (18.4%) experienced fuel poverty in 2001.
The Northern Ireland Fuel Poverty Strategy, published in 2004, has committed to eliminate fuel poverty by 2020. As part of this the prevalence of fuel poverty is monitored every few years and in 2004, 153,500 households were living in fuel poverty, representing one in four households.
Dr. McAvoy called on the Irish Government to adopt a similar approach. “Addressing fuel poverty in a strategic manner is imperative. This will require leadership and commitment at government level and across a number of government departments. A holistic strategy would really serve to enhance and consolidate the success of existing programmes tackling fuel poverty in Ireland. I would hope that this would be achieved as part of the implementation of the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion 2007-2016.
“The development of an agreed set of all-island fuel poverty indicators should be explored. Such indicators could provide a comprehensive overview of the dynamics of fuel poverty on an ongoing basis and therefore provide the best ‘intelligence’ for designing effective policy and practice,” she said.
Both Ireland and Northern Ireland have published climate change strategies this year. It is vitally important that priority be given to the needs of low-income and fuel poor households in efforts to improve thermal efficiency across the island.
Ends
Further Information
Arlene McKay, IPH Communications Officer +44 (0)28 90648494
.
NOTES TO EDITORS
The Institute of Public Health in Ireland is an all-island body which aims to combat health inequalities and influence public policy in favour of health. Its remit is to 'promote co-operation for public health between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland' including the areas of monitoring and surveillance. Further information can be accessed at www.publichealth.ie
