ESRI Finds Energy Price Shock Three Times Worse for Low-Income Households: ALONE Calls for Better Targeting of Government Supports
Organisation warns broad-based government measures are failing to reach those most in need
ALONE, the national organisation supporting older people to live well at home, has today called on the Government to urgently redesign its energy cost-of-living supports following new research from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) confirming that energy price increases are falling hardest on low-income households.
The ESRI’s research, published today, finds that without government intervention, low-income households would face an energy cost increase equivalent to 3% of household income: three times the 1% burden faced by high-income households. While recent government packages have reduced the immediate impact by approximately half, the ESRI warns that the relief measures are largely untargeted, with a significant share of support flowing to higher-income households who need it least.
ALONE, who supported over 46,500 older people last year across its services, says the findings reflect what staff and volunteers hear from older people every day: that rising energy costs are forcing impossible choices. This comes as the most recent CSO Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) data shows that nearly 1 in 3 older people living alone are at risk of poverty in Ireland.
“The ESRI has put hard numbers on what older people have been telling us for months,” said Seán Moynihan, CEO of ALONE. “Older people living alone on State pensions or low fixed incomes spend a far greater proportion of their income on home heating than any other group. When energy prices surge, they have nowhere else to turn. We need supports that actually get to the people who need them most.”
ALONE is particularly concerned about older people who are not connected to existing supports, including those who live in poorly insulated homes or who face barriers engaging with energy providers or government schemes. The organisation is calling on the Government to take three immediate actions:
- Increase the Fuel Allowance by at least €10 per week and permanently extend the Fuel Allowance season by four weeks, restoring it from 28 to 32 weeks, as was temporarily provided in 2026, to align the duration of the payment with the full heating season.
- Increase the Household Benefits Package (HBP) by at least €15 per month and introduce indexation linked to energy inflation to protect the real value of the payment over time. This payment helps older people with electricity and gas bills, but its real value has been eroded by rising costs.
- Expand eligibility for the free retrofitting scheme to include all older people, with initial additional investment of €21.4m to reduce waiting times and reach those most in need.
“The ESRI is right that more targeted measures could better protect vulnerable groups at a lower cost,” said Mr Moynihan. “We know from our services that energy poverty is a real issue – it is thousands of older people sitting in cold homes because they are afraid of the bill. Government has the data, it has the schemes, and now it has the independent evidence. What it needs is the political will to ensure that support reaches the people who are most exposed before next winter.
