Submission from ALONE to the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications 2025-2028
In April 2025, ALONE provided input to the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) for their upcoming strategy. ALONE recommended one major key objective to reduce energy poverty, particularly among at-risk groups. We recommended that this be included under what was currently Strategic Goal 2, “Transform our energy system for a new secure and affordable net zero emissions future”.
As stated in this submission, the rising energy costs in Ireland have significantly expanded ALONE’s efforts in addressing energy poverty, because of the impact on the older people we support. In 2024, one-third of older people supported by our services reported financial challenges. Among these, 45% of concerns related to utilities. The majority of older people required support to access energy company hardship funds, while others sought help with payment issues, arrears, or setting up payment plans.
The submission outlines additional asks for the Action Plan to Combat Energy Poverty from the DECC which have associated actions to this upcoming strategy, including revising and improving grants and financing for retrofitting homes, ensuring better access to said grants or schemes, exploring ways to utilize surplus renewable energy and finding new mechanisms to incentivize households to adopt renewable energy.
