People facing further financial pressures in 2024, charities warn
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If 2022 was the year inflation skyrocketed and the cost-of-living became a full-blown crisis, 2023 was the year the problems may have “levelled out” but remained an ever-present worry for Irish households.
And, heading into Christmas, it’s that bill coming in January that means little respite for those struggling as uncertainty reigns for how things will be in 2024.
Energy prices began to drop in the latter part of the year, albeit from historic highs. The latest figures show over 275,000 households are in arrears on their energy bills. Over 4,500 households were given eviction notices in the third quarter of this year. The cost of the weekly shop is far more than it used to be, as grocery price inflation remains “incredibly high” at 8.6%.
The Society of St Vincent de Paul are coming off one of their busiest ever years, according to its head of social justice Dr Tricia Keilthy.
“We have already exceeded the number of calls we took in 2022,” she told the this week. “We’re approaching a quarter of a million requests for help. That’s up from 230,000 the year before.”
Stephen Moffatt, national policy manager at children’s charity Barnardos, said that certain groups of people who were just getting by beforehand have been struggling ever since costs began to skyrocket a couple of years ago.
“That group has continued to struggle,” he said. “The regular worries about being able to pay the next bill that comes in. It’s just that continual worry that hasn’t gone away, are we going to have enough money to pay for x, y, and z.”
The Government's approach to supporting families facing surging costs has included a series of one-off payments to various groups to support them, particularly during the winter.
This included a once-off payment of €300 for people getting the fuel allowance, the same amount for the carer’s support grant and the working family payment, and a €200 increase for the Living Alone Allowance. Households will also receive electricity credits of €150 each on three occasions, with the first coming during the current bill cycle.
Charities supporting families, while welcoming the supports, have repeatedly stressed that they would rather see more sustained help given to households rather than once-off measures. They argue that once these measures taper off, struggling households will still find themselves in difficulty.
“The once-offs do provide breathing space,” Mr Moffatt said. “They really did help families. But the message is generally we’re still struggling. It’s the outlook going forward then.
“What are things going to be like down the line? The sense of ‘if we ride it out for another six months, things will change?’. There’s not that sense it will.”
Dr Keilthy said: “There has been significant intervention from Government but it’s that cumulative impact of rising prices, meaning the gap between what they need and what they have is still growing.
“The fuel allowance payment, for example, really does help. But when they’re gone, they’re gone. After the January bonus, there’s very little support there for people. Social welfare didn’t rise with inflation, so there’s a huge amount of uncertainty.”
Charities have said this uncertainty facing families heading into the new year has added to the sense of stress and anxiety at what is usually already a difficult period at Christmas.
Mr Moffatt said: “Take the double child benefit. That has made things a little bit easier in terms of winter purchases for kids, like a decent coat. That alleviates some concerns in terms of the Christmas expenditure. But that anxiety is still around.
“That’s work we’re doing around parental mental health. Parents’ stresses are higher than they have been. The increase to the qualified child payment wouldn’t even cover the increase in the cost of feeding a child.
“That’s another thing they’re definitely worried about. They were essentially wiped out in terms of safety nets they had. When welfare payments don’t match inflation, they can’t put away that child benefit for a rainy day anymore.”
Dr Keilthy said her organisation was also worried about the mental health impact on families dealing with such high costs. She said: “They might be able to pay one bill, but they’ll already be worried about the next one. A lot of families with children would be feeling this, particularly lone parents.
“That’s the reality for a lot of people. The disconnection moratorium will end in January. People may have put that bill on the back burner for Christmas, and they could find themselves under the threat of disconnection. While arrears have risen, disconnections are low. But one disconnection is too many as far as we’re concerned.”
Dr Keilthy said that the roots of this cost-of-living crisis have dug deep, with families reporting the same issues as before but at a “much deeper, persistent level”. She said that energy price reductions need to keep coming to provide relief for families, but that she remained worried about the adequacy of social welfare supports to help struggling households.
“Many families would’ve come to us at back-to-school time, or Christmas,” she said. “Now they’re seeking support on a more consistent basis. And we’re seeing people who’ve never had to reach out before, needing help for the first time.
“If you could categorise how people are feeling now and into 2024 it’s uncertainty. For the economy. And for families around the country.”