Galway households 'struggling to heat homes' as oil prices soar

Galway households are struggling to cope with a sharp rise in the cost of home heating oil, and the charity Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) is concerned about the level of assistance families could need this winter.

Published 9th Oct 2026, 16:35 BST Iconic Galway households are struggling to cope with a sharp rise in the cost of home heating oil, and the charity Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) is concerned about the level of assistance families could need this winter. Galway households are increasingly turning to the Society of St Vincent de Paul for help with heating oil as soaring prices put further pressure on families already struggling with the cost of living.

Regional President for the West Region of the Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP), Seamus McManus, said requests for help with heating oil had risen sharply, with the charity anxious about the level of assistance families could need this winter.

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“Oil has been a problem all year long and it looks to be getting worse,” he told the Galway Live.

“We are pretty anxious about the assistance people will be looking for this winter.

“Oil is increasingly one of the most frequent requests we get, along with electricity bills. It is the big thing now and we are just wondering what is going to hit us next.”

Budget 2027: All you need to know about fuel and energy measures for the year ahead Mr McManus said that in the past, the charity would generally provide help with heating oil in cases where there were young children, older or vulnerable people, or someone who was ill in the home.

However, he said the need had become much more widespread. While the charity might previously have helped only five or six clients with oil over the course of a year, it is now receiving such requests far more frequently.

The issue is particularly significant in rural Galway, where many households remain dependent on oil or solid fuel to heat their homes.

“Most of the established households are all oil or solid-fuel dependent. As people get older, they can’t manage solid fuel,” Mr McManus said.

Four Galway people given 'Ageing Heroes' awards including 95-year-old local legend The growing demand for help comes as households face a sharp increase in the cost of filling their oil tanks.

Figures from OilPrices.ie show the average cost of 1,000 litres of heating oil in Galway has risen by almost 72 per cent in the space of a year, from €909 last September to €1,562 this September - an increase of €653.

Leas Cathaoirleach of Galway County Council, Cllr Mike Regan (FF), said the rising price was forcing some households to cut back on the amount of oil they could afford to buy.

“The price of kerosene is more than twice what it was last year and that is a huge amount of money for people to find,” said Cllr Regan.

“People are already struggling with the cost of living and then they have the heating bill on top of everything else.

“Someone who might normally order 1,000 litres is looking at the price now and saying they can only afford half that amount.”

Cllr Regan said some households were ordering 500 litres when they might previously have bought 1,000 litres because of the increased cost.

He has called on the Government to examine reducing excise duty on kerosene as a way of easing the pressure on household budgets.

He said the Government had not reduced the excise duty on heating oil and that the measure should now be looked at as a matter of urgency.

With households continuing to contend with higher everyday costs, Cllr Regan said heating was one expense families could not simply avoid.

“People have to heat their homes,” he said. “The Government needs to look at what can be done to bring that cost down.”