The Institute of Public Health in Ireland (IPH) today called for the Northern Ireland Executive to protect the government-led fuel poverty strategy that should be replicated across the island.
Launching the All-Ireland policy paper on fuel poverty and health IPH Senior Policy Officer Dr. Helen McAvoy said "The development of the fuel poverty strategy for Northern Ireland signaled a real commitment across government departments to tackle fuel poverty in the region in a strategic and co-ordinated way. The strategy recognised that improving the thermal efficiency of Northern Ireland’s housing stock, in particular housing occupied by low-income householders is the linchpin of a successful approach to reducing fuel poverty.”
“Although declining, levels of fuel poverty in Northern Ireland remain unacceptably high with one in four households living in cold, damp, and thermally inefficient houses. Fuel poverty poses an ongoing threat to the health and wellbeing of people living on low incomes, particularly those living alone, older people and people with disabilities. The Northern Ireland Executive cannot therefore afford to be complacent in the campaign to tackle fuel poverty.”
Dr. McAvoy continued
“It is particularly disappointing that at a time when the effectiveness and successes of the Northern Ireland fuel poverty strategy is recognised in the recommendations of this report that the schemes at the heart of the strategy are under budgetary threat.”
“Any downgrading of the resources allocated to the Warm Homes scheme and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive Heating Replacement Scheme will certainly threaten the commitments made within the fuel poverty strategy. These cuts will cause even more hardship for low income householders trying to heat their homes in an era of fluctuating fuel prices.”
Both Northern Ireland and 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.
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For further information contact Gráinne Walsh on +44 (0)28 9087 2800 or +44 (0)79 2016 5600 or Arlene McKay on +44 (0)28 90 648494.
NOTES TO EDITOR
1. 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.
2. The Government’s Fuel Poverty Strategy was launched in 2004 with the targets to eradicate fuel poverty in all vulnerable households by 2010 and all other households by 2016
3. The Institute of Public Health in Ireland was set up to seek practical advantages from building co-operation for public health between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. We work in four areas: policy advice, information, research and capacity building and our objective is to tackle inequalities in health and improve the health of the public.
