No where to turn for people in Louth left without home heating
Louth Sinn Féin TD Ruairí Ó Murchú said that one man in Dundalk receiving disability allowance had been without heating and hot water since July because his boiler is broken
Urgent Government action is needed to help older people and people with disabilities left without heating or hot water because they cannot afford to replace broken boilers, Louth Sinn Féin TD Ruairí Ó Murchú has said.
Speaking during a topical issue debate on where this help can come from, the Dundalk TD highlighted cases where households cannot secure assistance through council grants, SEAI schemes or social welfare payments, leaving them with nowhere to turn.
Deputy Ó Murchú said that one man in Dundalk receiving disability allowance had been without heating and hot water since July because his boiler is broken.
Despite submitting quotations and bank statements demonstrating that he had no money to replace the boiler, Deputy Ó Murchú said that the man had been unable to obtain an exceptional needs payment from Social Protection.
Deputy Ó Murchú told the Dáil: “He has no heat and no hot water and we are not able to get an exceptional needs payment. That is the crux of the matter”.
He also raised the circumstances of an 80-year-old man whose family includes several people with disabilities and who could not secure assistance to replace his boiler.
Deputy Ó Murchú raised the issue of a couple who are almost seventy whose boiler is broken and are in similar circumstances.
He said: “We have a failure at every level here. The Government has to be aware of the issue.”
Deputy Ó Murchú pointed out that older homes can require substantial and unaffordable improvements before heat pumps become suitable.
He highlighted lengthy waits for the Warmer Homes Scheme and the closure of housing grant applications during the summer because of funding shortages in Louth and elsewhere.
Responding, Minister of State Catherine Ardagh said EU legislation prohibited public financial incentives for new standalone oil and gas boilers from January 2025.
She said: “It is a European directive and, yes, it has had adverse consequences”.
Deputy Ó Murchú said: “What is the point of having the Presidency of the European Council if we cannot even sort out simple issues like this that impact people and their ability to heat their homes?”
The Minister said council grants could support repairs, second-hand boilers and alternative heating systems.
Additional needs payments could assist with immediate heating needs, including temporary heaters and emergency repairs, but were not intended to fund boiler replacements or address gaps in other departments’ schemes.
She described the suggestion that boilers could not be repaired or second-hand replacements obtained as “not fully true and a bit disingenuous”.
Deputy Ó Murchú challenged that response: “If a contractor says a boiler cannot be fixed, it cannot be fixed.”
He said: “Are we going to leave them without heating? We are talking about grant schemes that did exist before. This is not in any way good enough”.