The Economic Costs of High Heating Oil Prices on the Poor

The heat is on! Heating oil prices in NI (North Ireland) are very high. This has many residents of Northern Ireland burning with anger. What has many residents particularly steamed is that the increased prices are burning holes in their pocket. The rapid increase of home fuel costs could not have come at a worse time.

Rates are higher than any other part of the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland. To make a bad situation worse, the people of the province are the least able to afford it. The rate of poverty there is double than what it is in England, Scotland and Wales combined. The poverty level is higher in the North than in the Republic of Ireland. In a sane world, prices, along with general price index should be lower in a region with the greatest amount of poverty.

With heating oil prices over 400 pounds a month, many households are finding that they are unable to keep up. With such high rates of poverty, this situation will only deteriorate for the impoverished population. Coupled with the coldest winter in centuries, the material position of the masses of the region is in the most precarious state of affairs.

Home fuel costs are a travesty of justice that the most vulnerable and the poorest have to pay more to keep warm during winter than those with better economic means. KI Residences Many people had longed hoped that the sectarian political conflicts of the past would bring economic prosperity. Indeed, all sides of the conflict had assured that a lasting peace would result in a higher standard of living. Those in Northern Ireland looked south across the border green with envy. The Celtic Tiger of the 1990s was promised to cross the border after the signing of the Good Friday accords.

Costly prices have nothing to do with the political turbulence of the past. However, the promised economic benefits have not materialized. The high cost of heating fuel is entirely due to external factors which have nothing to do with Northern Ireland at all. The question remains, how will the impoverished masses manage to maintain heat during the winter?

Heating oil prices in NI (North Ireland) may very well lead to a further debasing of the quality of life for the residents of the province. With food and transport costs already high, most people cannot afford the added burden of paying upwards of 450 Pounds to keep their homes warm in the winter.

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