Fuel far less affordable to Ireland’s poor than it was 10 years ago – Gript

The cost of heating one’s home has increased significantly over the past ten years, particularly for those on lower incomes.

In 2012, a 40kg bag of coal in Ireland cost an average of €13, at a time when the minimum wage was €8.65 per hour. This amount of coal could last roughly a week in winter time.

What this meant was, if you were on minimum wage in 2012, in order to afford a week’s worth of coal, you would have to work for around 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Fast forward to 2022, and that same 40kg bag of coal costs an average of €33 – an increase of €20 over a ten year period.

While the minimum wage has increased during the same period to €10.50 an hour, the rising cost of energy has outpaced the hike in wages. The end result of this is that a minimum wage worker today has to work 3 hours to afford a 40kg bag of coal in 2022. In short, a low-income worker today has to work for twice as long to afford the same amount of coal as they would have had ten years ago.

The price of briquettes have also increased proportionally for poorer people.

Fuel far less affordable to Ireland’s poor than it was 10 years ago – Gript