Cllr. Ted Tynan
Workers’ Party Councillor Ted Tynan has said that the shocking levels of fuel poverty revealed in the Unite union study published today exposes the true misery of Christmas for a huge number of families in Cork and across the state.
Cllr. Tynan said that the Unite report had utterly destroyed the government’s claim of a recovery for all and the revelation that the number of people suffering fuel poverty in 2015 is three times what it was in 2007 shows a vast increase in the gap between rich and poor in this country.
The report showed that an estimated 700,000 people are affected by Fuel Poverty across the state.
“The figure of 82,000 people suffering fuel poverty in Cork City & County is truly shocking”, said Cllr. Tynan. “It shows the real dilemma facing many individuals and families this Christmas – whether to put ample food on their tables or to adequately heat their homes. For some there is not enough for heat or food and that is a damning indictment of the so-called recovery and of the present government”.
Councillor Tynan has supported Unites’ demand for a series of urgent measures to address the crisis but stressed that these will only be stop-gap measures and that only a systemic change to a socialist form of government would bring real improvements and social justice for working class people.