Posted online: Sep 3rd, 2008

Inishowen is not only facing a “winter of discontent” but an “autumn of discomfort,” it was claimed yesterday.Rising fuel costs and an increase in the number people finding themselves in financial difficulty, has led to Buncrana Sinn Fein Councillor Daren Lalor calling on the Government to extend the fuel allowance while the St Vincent de Paul warned it was facing its busiest Christmas in 15 years.Cllr Lalor claimed higher fuel costs, combined with the poor summer weather, meant people were forced to use their heating throughout the summer months at much greater costs while the SVDP claimed the availability of “easy credit” meant the “widespread debt epidemic” had spread to Inishowen.Cllr Lalor claimed rising fuel costs meant many people faced extra costs they could not afford.He added: “The unseasonal rainfall over the last two summers means many people have to use their heating systems to dry clothes and even just to keep warm at times.“There is also the fact that many old people are in need of their heating all year round. The National Fuel Scheme is a scheme that is intended to help households in Ireland which are dependant on long-term social welfare or Health Service Executive (HSE) payments and who are unable to provide for their own heating needs. The scheme operates for 30 weeks from the end of September to mid-April. It is clear that there is a need for this scheme to be extended to meet rising costs and the inclement weather conditions that we are experiencing.Cllr. Lalor said fuel poverty was a “very real issue” and was highlighted by the fact that householders needed to spend more than 10% of their income on energy costs to heat their homes.He added: “The Government must plan to eradicate fuel poverty as is planned by the Northern Executive, which has produced a ‘Fuel Poverty Strategy’ which commits to eliminating fuel poverty by 2020. Built into this is the monitoring of fuel poverty every few years. However, our Government does not monitor fuel poverty and has no strategy to eliminate it. A study during the peak of the Celtic Tiger in 2001 showed that 227,000 Irish homes experienced fuel poverty. Given the difficult economic circumstances and the rising cost of fuels this figure has no doubt increased.”Cllr Lalor concluded: “With all of this in mind I would appeal to Government representatives to use their influence and put pressure on the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Mary Hanafin, to address this issue and consider extending the fuel allowance .”Meanwhile, the Society of St Vincent de Paul has revealed it was experiencing a “worrying trend” of people looking for help.SVP spokesperson, Kevin Cooley, said: “Historically, St. Vincent de Paul has helped people on a short term basis to deal with emotional and financial problems.  Requests were, among others, for food, fuel and education.  But while these requests still remain, the society is experiencing a worrying trend where people are finding it necessary to ask for financial assistance on a much larger scale.  Requests to help repay car loans, holiday bills and even mortgage payments are becoming more and more common.”