Debate contribution: Household Energy Costs

Debate contribution by Mr Colm Gildernew on 7 October 2025.

MLA

Mr Colm Gildernew

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

7 October 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Household Energy Costs

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5165044

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I thank the Members for tabling the motion, which is on a topic of huge importance. As we all know, over the past number of years, the cost-of-living crisis has had a particularly severe impact on family household bills, particularly food prices and housing costs. Perhaps one of the most punishing impacts of the cost-of-living crisis, however, has been the runaway increases in household energy costs. Although energy prices have mostly stabilised, the past few years highlighted just how volatile the energy market is and how global events taking place thousands of miles away can have a material impact on the standard of living that people experience here in the North. One of the biggest knock-on effects of the energy crisis has been the significant rise in fuel poverty, particularly for those on low incomes. A 2024 survey by National Energy Action (NEA) found that roughly 40% of people in the North experience some level of fuel poverty. In practice, that means families having to choose between heating and eating; children sleeping in cold, damp bedrooms; and more stress and anxiety and a lower quality of life for all those who are impacted. Those statistics bring into sharp focus the urgent need for a modern, fit-for-purpose fuel poverty strategy that will make a meaningful impact on reducing fuel poverty. We also need to see the urgent delivery of an ambitious anti-poverty strategy, as fuel poverty is intrinsically linked to wider poverty and one cannot be tackled without the other being tackled. It would be helpful if the Minister could set out timelines for both. The Department consulted on a draft fuel poverty strategy earlier in the year. Sinn Féin responded to that consultation, and I was glad to see some positive proposals. It is vital that we make our current housing stock more energy-efficient. Poor insulation in homes is one of the key drivers of fuel poverty, and that is particularly true of older properties. In recent years, there have been uplifts to building standards, and they have reduced energy costs dramatically for newer homes while ensuring that homes are warmer. We must move forward with the next phase of the planned uplifts. It would be good if the Minister could give an update on when that is likely to go ahead. We also need to see a retrofit strategy for older homes. Some older properties are so energy-inefficient that it will take considerable investment and innovative solutions to bring them up to modern standards. That will, however, benefit us all in the long run. Sinn Féin has called for an uplift to the minimum energy efficiency standards in the private rented sector. At last week's Communities Committee, members received a briefing from departmental officials that included an update on the new warm healthy homes scheme, which is due to replace the affordable warmth scheme in 2026. The affordable warmth scheme has been a lifeline for many families in combating the worst impacts of fuel poverty over the past decade, with over 25,000 homes receiving upgrades at a cost of over £100 million. The new scheme needs to be even more ambitious and be open to more people. It would be helpful if the Minister could share some of the details of the new scheme. We also need to see greater protections for consumers from energy companies. One of the lessons from the cost-of-living crisis is that price rises will always fall on the consumer, and energy companies often seem to take advantage of that by announcing unfair price hikes. Sinn Féin would like to see the introduction of an energy price cap in the North, as already exists in Britain, as well as price protections for home heating oil customers and social tariffs for the most vulnerable. Before I conclude, I want to flag with the Minister a significant issue with the recall of home heating pumps in the South. I am not sure whether the Minister is aware of that. If he is not, I will pass on information. I would just like to check whether there is any impact in the North.

685 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:23 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

Disagree with this assessment?

Classifications can be challenged. A person reads every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.

Challenge this classification