The report outlined the proceedings of a conference on rural fuel poverty organised by the Western Regional Energy Agency and Network, which took place in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland in 2002. It summarised the presentations given by each speaker and subsequent question-and-answer sessions, as well as the welcome speech and plenary discussion.

The presentations were grouped into three areas: 1) Outlining Rurality and Fuel Poverty, 2) Targeting Rural Communities – Examples of Action and 3) Finding Solutions to Rural Fuel Poverty. A wide variety of information was shared.

Research indicated that around 170,000 households in Northern Ireland were living in fuel poverty and 12% of rural homes were deemed unfit. The province had a relatively underdeveloped energy infrastructure, particularly for gas, leading to an overreliance on oil, which was not a regulated resource. Government programmes such as the Warm Homes Scheme (introduced in 2001), the Northern Ireland Energy Efficiency Levy and the Home Energy Conservation Act 1996 had had an impact on rural poverty. While rural housing in the Republic of Ireland displayed similar characteristics, it was noted that the funding available for efficiency projects was lower than that obtainable in Northern Ireland.

Examples of research and practical initiatives were highlighted, such as the Armagh and Dungannon Health Action Zone (which surveyed the energy efficiency of around 400 properties and the health of their residents before promoting practical measures such as new heating or double glazing) and Energy Action Dublin’s package of improvements in Monaghan and elsewhere in the Irish Republic.