ABSTRACT
There has been a slowly-growing body of literature developing in the field of fuel poverty and related health effects, especially in the UK (Marsh et al., 1999; Rudge and Nicol, 2000). Despite this, there has been virtually no work examining whether fuel-poor households tend to follow the pattern of those households enduring generalised income poverty and deprivation who exhibit increased levels of a range of risk factors associated with low household income. This research deficit has occurred, not because of a lack of interest in the area, but because of some major logistical reasons, most obviously the lack of data. This chapter attempts to shed some light on this area by analysing the relationship between fuel-poor households and a range of risk factors other than those pertaining specifically to fuel poverty. The data are employed from a statistically representative national household survey of Ireland conducted in 2001 and funded by the Urban Institute of Ireland (UII).
