Pensioner and cancer patient cannot get help to replace gas boiler, says Laois TD

A Laois pensioner and cancer patient has been refused a heating grant after her boiler broke last year, TD Brian Stanley told the Dáil earlier this month.

Speaking during a Dáil debate on energy costs, Laois TD Brian Stanley declared that "the cost of energy is putting huge pressure on households, with over 300,000 households now in arrears with electricity bills."

Opening up the debate, Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, acknowledged that there has been significant increases in the prices of energy for households and businesses since 2022.

The Minister told the assembly that he has requested the Commission for Regulation of Utilities to lead an independent review into the relationship between wholesale and retail energy prices through reviewing the competitiveness of Irish retail energy markets, examining supplier costs, including hedging and pricing practices, and providing comparative price analysis with other EU member states. 

Deputy O'Brien went on to say that the Government has provided "significant targeted support to those people who most require help with their energy costs."

READ NEXT: Portlaoise GAA pays tribute to 'much loved' local man

However, Deputy Stanley disagreed with the comments by criticising the insufficiency of housing grants for older people.

Deputy Stanley said: "I want the Minister to address the fact the 'housing aid for older people grants' cannot be given to people to replace a gas boiler. I am not sure if it was the Department officials or one of the Ministers who decided this.

"I have a case of a woman who I will call Sheila. She is 67 years old and a cancer patient. She is living alone and is on non-contributory pension. She has a 20-year-old house. In 2024 her gas boiler stopped working.

"She cannot get the €3,000 grant from the council to replace it. She cannot get it from the community welfare officer because he says it is the job of the council and she cannot get it from the SEAI because there is a 25-month wait. The rule from the Department says that it cannot be replaced with gas because it is fossil fuel."

The Laois TD also criticised the level of privatisation in the industry and carbon tax being raised.

In response to Fine Gael TD Barry Ward's remarks about the rising cost of electricity despite the move towards renewals, Deputy Stanley said: "I was listening to Deputy Barry Ward complaining about the energy companies putting up the wholesale price - of course, they are doing it - and he wondered why electricity is getting so dear.

"Well, 25 years ago, it was 96% publicly owned. We had one of the cheapest electricity supplies in the European Union. Now, it is 25% publicly owned and 75% private. We have the third to fourth most expensive electricity in Europe."

He added: "That is the first thing Government TDs need to take on board, instead of coming in here and complaining about private companies. Of course, they are going to do what they do; they are set up to make profit. They are going to get as much as they can out of it."

Minister O'Brien had previously said that price setting by electricity suppliers is a commercial and operational matter for those companies.

In addition to this, the Independent Republican TD stated: "Government is increasing carbon taxes not once but twice a year and these hikes are having a huge impact on householders, small businesses and motorists, adding to the cost of living by putting up fuel prices. Of course, if fuel prices go up, everything else goes up.

"It has turned out that the carbon tax is benefitting most those who can afford to buy a new electric car and get the grant, or those who can do a major retrofit in their home. However, low-income households, often rural dwellers, are not getting the benefits from the carbon tax that is being collected."

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme