THOUSANDS OF people are living in households without heating installed or are unable to keep their homes warm in winter, new figures show.
A report by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows the problem is concentrated among households headed by people on lower-than-average incomes and in higher levels of poverty.
For example, 14 per cent of those in local authority households reported difficulties keeping their houses warm in winter, compared to just 2 per cent among the general population.
The type of household most likely to be affected was one headed by someone who was unemployed, not working due to illness, or a student. Also, homes without heating installed had a much lower average household income (€26,574) compared to a State average of €59,820.
The report – based on an annual survey on income and living conditions – shows the highest levels of dissatisfaction among households on lower incomes, or renting.
Households that were owner-occupied were less likely to be dissatisfied with their dwelling.
It also shows that people living in apartments, flats or bedsits are much less satisfied with their homes compared to those living in houses of various types.
Overall, those living in apartments reported the lowest levels of satisfaction (68 per cent) compared to those living in houses of various types (85 per cent).
The most frequently reported problem in apartments was a lack of storage space (44 per cent). This was much less of a problem in terraced houses (21 per cent), semi-detached homes (19 per cent) and detached homes (13 per cent).
Households in rural areas were much more likely to report difficulties accessing basic services, such as public transport, banking or shops. Just over half of all households in rural areas reported difficulty in accessing public transport, compared to just 11 per cent of households in urban areas.
The Dublin area reported much lower difficulty in accessing services than other regions. Just 6 per cent of households there reported difficulty of access to public transport, compared with 44 per cent of households in the Border region.
