Energy costs: 'I keep a woolly hat under my pillow in case I'm cold'

Hugh Feely (72), a retired chef, no longer uses the storage heaters in his council house in Kinlough, Co Leitrim.

“I couldn’t afford them. They’re a robber,” he says. “I use a 1,000w blow-heater to heat the bedroom before I go to bed. I close the door, put the heater on for 10 minutes – as long as I can take the chill out of the air.

“It’s not cosy, no, but I got myself a garment in Penneys recently that gets around it. It’s a one-piece suit, and God it’s warm. I got a pair of army socks. As long as my feet and the top of my nose and ears are warm I’m grand. I have a woolly hat I keep under my pillow and if I’m really cold during the night I put that on.”

Mr Feely says he can handle “a certain amount of cold” but that as he has gotten older he finds “with certain types of cold I am more miserable.

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“That damp, sticky rain now, it plays hell with my arthritis. For the last while now I have noticed, whether it’s the weather or the inflation, I am spending more on the electricity.”

He used to spend about €25 a week on a pre-pay electricity meter but is now paying some 40 per cent more, about €35 a week, to power his TV, Sky box, lights, electric kettle and blow-heater.

Then there are other increases that have to be covered by his State pension of “about €250” a week.

“I noticed prices starting to go up in the first lockdown – a few pence on things.”

Proper meat and veg

His weekly grocery bill – on food, cleaning products and toiletries – has increased from about €60 to €70.

“I like to eat a bit of proper meat and proper veg at least a couple of times a week. I don’t believe in organic. I think that’s the greatest rip-off ever, but I do believe in quality food.”

Among his treats are bacon sandwiches made with a particular brand of bacon, chocolate bars and chocolate-covered Kimberley biscuits.

“The bacon has gone up 30c. Chocolate bars have got smaller. A small bar of chocolate now is €1.32,” he says. “I had a great passion for the chocolate Kimberley’s. You only get eight in a packet though and by the time the kettle is boiled you’d have three of them scoffed. You could go through two packets a day no bother, so I cut them out just to keep the ship on course.”

Asked about advice from some commentators that people like him should “shop around” to make their money go further, Mr Feely says he already does and knows exactly how much things cost in each shop.

"I have a dog and two cats and for the three containers of pet food I'd pay €3.74 in the local shop, but for €7 I can get 18 in the big supermarket in Bundoran, " he says.

“I know where the best value is. I know how to cook. Heat and food are the things people need. They are not treats. The Government has lost touch with what’s going on with the people.”