Pensioner warns Government over fuel cuts

A NORTHSIDE pensioner
believes people will die if cuts to the State’s fuel allowance scheme go ahead.

From September 6, the
electricity allowance cash payment of e43.80 a month for anyone aged over 70
will be reduced to e35.80 a month. Gas allowance will also be cut from e489 to
e393 a year.

Vincent Quinn (74), from
Cromcastle Court, Coolock, says cash-strapped pensioners will not be able to
cope with rising fuel prices.

“I live in a council flat
with my sick wife who just recently came out of hospital,

? said Mr Quinn.

“She is dependent on the
heating system because her health is so bad.

“She doesn’t have enough
oxygen in her blood and has fluid on her lungs. She’s 79 and fully depends on
having heating in the flat.

?

Mr Quinn said his pension
has been stretched to the limit and that the Government will face mass
demonstrations if the cuts go ahead. He claimed the Government was refusing to
listen to the elderly.

“We’ll force them to
listen,

? he stated.

“They’ll have no choice. People are scared and frightened,
and it’s going to be a long, cold winter when it does arrive.

“What will we do then? There’s no way I’m
going to pay for it. People will die over this.

?

Mr Quinn added:

“Elderly
people have done their bit for society and it’s time the Government showed us
some respect.

?

Last winter, Alone assisted
an estimated 1,000 pensioners with gas bills. The Dublin-based charity is now
predicting a massive hike in the number of people who will seek help.

Its chief executive Sean
Moynihan said elderly people were being marginalised and isolated, and
decisions to cut back on fuel allowance will widen the poverty gap and put the
health of elderly people at serious risk.

“We are concerned that older
people will have to cut back on the use of fuel, particularly if the winter
weather gets as bad as previous years,

? said Mr Moynihan.

Dermot Kirwan, a
spokesperson for Friends of the Elderly, said the cutbacks will put elderly
patients at risk of hypothermia and pneumonia.

“Elderly people are a lot
more stationary than the average person,

? Mr Kirwan told Northside People.

“Their lives will be at
greater risk if they cut back on their fuel.

“We would totally condemn
compromising the health of the elderly, especially because it is going to cost
more to keep them in hospital if they fall sick.

“The situation is creating a
false economy and the Government is continuously targeting older people.

?

Minister for Social
Protection Joan Burton recently defended the cuts.

She said there was an
ongoing need to secure additional savings to meet financial commitments made to
the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

It is estimated that
cutbacks to the fuel allowance will save e64 million.