Charity sparks fuel poverty fear

from the Belfast Telegraph

By Deborah McAleese

Thousands of low-income families in Ulster will be forced to live in cold, damp houses because of planned budget cuts to an organisation that tackles fuel poverty, it was warned last night.

National Energy Action NI says it has been told that its budget from the Department of Social Development will be halved next year - a move which the charity has described as "dangerous" and "draconian".

Pat Austin, NEA's Northern Ireland director claimed that each year in Northern Ireland more than 2,000 people die because of the cold and more than half are older people.

"Living in a cold or damp home is often a direct cause of poor health and can contribute to certain conditions such as strokes, coronary heart disease, asthma and respiratory illnesses," she said.

Ms Austin was speaking as the week-long Warm Homes Campaign was launched across the UK. This is an annual winter initiative organised by National Energy Action (NEA).

At NEA, fuel poverty is defined as the need to spend more than 10% of household income on fuel costs in order to maintain adequate warmth for health and comfort.

"At the moment we estimate there are 154,000 fuel-poor households in Northern Ireland and more than 50% of them are lived in by older people," said Ms Austin.

"But results from the 2006 House Condition Survey, which are out soon, are expected to say that this figure has risen to above 210,000 households. That means that 36% of all households in Northern Ireland are experiencing fuel poverty and that's a jump of 5% from 2001.

"Children and the elderly will suffer the most if our budget is cut. We are appealing to the DSD and the DFP to reconsider their decisions," she added.