Increasing number of Longford pensioners turning off energy sapping storage heaters to cut costs
Longford pensioners are turning off energy sapping storage heaters in a desperate attempt to make ends meet, a meeting heard last week.
That was the disturbing warning issued at last week’s meeting of Granard Municipal District amid renewed concerns over the country’s unrelenting cost of living crisis.
Speaking following a briefing delivered by Longford Healthy Age Friendly Homes Local Coordinator, Mary Carey, Cllr Paraic Brady said there was a real sense of disquiet among the county’s elderly over soaring electricity costs.
He said a large slice of that unease was centred on exorbitant heating bills brought about by outdated storage heaters.
“They (pensioners) are switching them off because they can’t afford to, with their pension, pay for electricity,” he said.
Cllr Brady said despite a heightened focus on zero emissions and for councils to carry out extensive upgrades on existing stock to reduce energy consumption, more steps were needed.
In order to meet that demand, a dedicated scheme directed at Longford’s more senior population was required.
“The new houses that are being built now have no chimneys, have air to water and heat pumps but for older people we need a retrofit scheme,” he said.
“Turf is no longer going to be viable and it’s the same with timber. We are pushing policies on people and yet we have no mechanism to help people.”
His Fine Gael party member Cllr Garry Murtagh also raised unease at how home help in certain pockets of north Longford was now a “huge issue”.
He said the number of people who were reaching retirement age and not being replaced as particularly disconcerting.
“A number of HSE staff either after retiring or in the process of retiring and there seems to be no move on behalf of the HSE to replace those people,” he said.