The cost of heating homes is to become even more expensive with the introduction of the Carbon Tax from today.
The tax which will be applied to solid fuels or coal, in the case of home heating, will see the price of a bag of coal increase by as much as €3.
The Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan, says he chose not to introduce it until now because of the potential impact on lower income households.
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Age Action has criticised the move, saying it will add even more hardship to the lives of older people.
They say up to 2,000 deaths can be attributed to the cold every winter.
Eamon Timmins, Head of Advocacy at Age Action, says older people have died because of the cold winters in recent years:
