Donegal families bearing brunt of energy costs, says 100% Redress TD

TD Charles Ward has said that Donegal families are bearing the brunt of rising energy and fuel costs due to the lack of public transport alternatives and the fact that the county relies heavily on oil for home heating.

The Donegal Deputy claimed that the average family in Donegal is now out of an estimated figure of €1,000 a month.

He said: “Families are down between 150 and 200 euros a month, on transport alone, and the price for home heating oil has nearly doubled. On February 28th, 1,000 litres in Donegal was €940. Today 1,000 litres of heating oil in Donegal is €1,650, over €700 of a difference in just 18 days. It’s an absolute fortune. How can families be expected to sustain this?”

Deputy Ward stated that because public transport is scarce, and sometimes non-existent, for people in Donegal, every price hike at the pump feels like a direct penalty for where they live.

“As well as this, most houses in the county are older and therefore rely on oil central heating, which is out of control price-wise,’ he said, ‘people are choosing between heating and eating.”

READ NEXT: Revised plans submitted to convert iconic former Milford hotel into gym

The 100% Redress Party leader said that for the defective concrete families, it has added another unbearable cost: “They keep the heating on every day of the year just to heat the house, to keep the damp down. The houses don't hold the heat. People cannot be expected to bear any more.”

Deputy Ward urged the government to intervene, to “end the rip-off,” and to “stop families from being squeezed any further.”