Debate contribution: Fuel Poverty

Debate contribution by Ms Sinéad McLaughlin on 16 April 2024.

MLA

Ms Sinéad McLaughlin

Party at the time

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Date

16 April 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Opposition Business

Heading

Fuel Poverty

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4483781

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I am grateful to the Members who have contributed to this important debate. Many statistics are associated with fuel poverty, and we have heard several of them this afternoon. However, the main statistic is one that should focus our minds, and Daniel McCrossan outlined it when he proposed the motion: 290 people die here every year because of fuel poverty. That is an absolute scandal in this day and age, and it is happening on our watch. It is fuelled by the policies of our Government and the dysfunction of our politics. As other Members said, due to the repeated and consistent failures of this place, whether in policy and strategy or because of the refusal of some parties to work the common ground and operate the institutions, we have allowed individuals to live in homes that are simply not for purpose and have pushed more and more people into fuel poverty, with devastating consequences for their health, well-being and livelihood. Of course, in recent years, more people have struggled than ever before thanks to the impact of the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis. Faced with those challenges, what was the response of the biggest parties in the Chamber? They walked away from the table and took turns to bring this place down. Those actions did nothing for the thousands of people here who struggle with the choice between heating and eating. We all know of families who, without support from government, have chosen to go without food in order to make sure that the heating can be turned on. Sian Mulholland told us about the impact of the fuel poverty that some of her constituents experience. We have all seen how even the government support schemes that exist do not reach everyone who needs them. As has been said throughout the debate, fuel poverty literally costs lives, with people in damp, cold homes paying the price of the failure to address the issue. It does not affect everyone equally. In Derry City and Strabane, we have the highest level of individuals in relative poverty, after housing costs, at between 23% and 24%. That is double the lowest level in Northern Ireland. That kind of regional inequality is unacceptable. It means that whether you will experience fuel poverty is very much a postcode lottery. In 2024, it should not be the case that anyone struggles to heat their home or keep a roof over their head or gets sick from damp and mouldy conditions. I do not believe that that is a controversial statement. The question now is this: what will the Executive do about it? In the past, this place delivered the Warmer, Healthier Homes fuel poverty strategy, but that is over a decade old and is no longer fit for purpose. The truth is that, in recent years, progress towards meaningful change has been woeful. People who are in desperate need struggle with fuel poverty. There has been little change in practice, and the fuel poverty strategy for Northern Ireland has not been updated since 2011. That failure has exposed thousands of families to exponential shocks in recent years and has had a devastating impact. Several Members referred to the number of households living in fuel poverty, citing the fact that, in 2016, it was estimated that 22% of households were in fuel poverty. Recent data from the Fuel Poverty Coalition suggests that that has risen to 45%. We know that the challenges of fuel poverty are especially acute for our rural communities, as Colm Gildernew highlighted. Around 82% of people in such communities are heavily reliant on home heating oil, which is totally unregulated. In this mandate, we must finally see the delivery of the long-overdue fuel poverty strategy, which must set clear, ambitious targets to eradicate fuel poverty in the next Programme for Government. Patsy McGlone stated that the strategy must establish much-needed support for working families, particularly those who have not had the opportunity to avail themselves of support streams. The strategy must provide the framework for transformational change, particularly when it comes to retrofitting homes. Kellie Armstrong made that point very well. At the time of the 2019 Housing Executive stock survey, 63% of homes had cavity wall insulation that was not compliant with the industry standard. People living in those homes simply do not have a chance when it comes to ensuring that their home can stay warm, and they are much more likely to get sick, particularly if they are elderly or have pre-existing health conditions. We know that cold homes exacerbate respiratory illness and mental health issues, which, in turn, places yet more demands on our National Health Service. John Stewart talked about the quality of housing. I have lost count of the people who have come into my constituency surgeries whose health issues can be traced back to their housing situation. I thank John Stewart, who mentioned Andy Allen's work in calling for the establishment of a fuel poverty task force. It is time for the Government to get serious about the matter and to undertake a large-scale retrofit programme. Such a scheme may be expensive, but it is, no doubt, possible, and it will pay off tenfold in the long run. After all, if heat is lost through our homes, it does not matter how many support schemes are created, because we will never solve the problem. That strategy can also help us meet our climate goals through reducing carbon emissions and their associated environmental impacts, all while delivering a new generation of energy-efficient homes, bringing down costs for families and helping us to reach net zero. We need a programme of retrofitting, and we need to address the challenges that people face. David Honeyford highlighted the need for innovative thinking, and a reform programme will require fundamental change in our planning system. For that, we should be prepared to look elsewhere. In the South, planning policy and regulation are facilitating the homes of the future. We are building homes for the past, and we are doing that now. Everyone in the Chamber knows that planning policy here is a complete handbrake on sustainable development and on creating the housing stock that we all want to see for the future. Only by introducing such an approach can we future-proof the strategy so that it stands up to scrutiny over time. That means that this is not a job for just the Minister for Communities, as he rightly said. The Minister for Infrastructure also has a role, and there is a wider impact on the rest of the Executive. Indeed, the next fuel poverty strategy must encourage and facilitate collaboration across Departments, public health agencies and other stakeholders. No one can shirk responsibility on this. In short, the Assembly is only up and running, but we are already seeing examples of the silo mentality that characterised the previous mandate.

Certainly.

1,150 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 09:58 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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