More than 1 in 5 people with a serious health problem are unable to afford to keep their home adequately warm.
That's according to a CSO survey released earlier this morning.
It shows that poverty rates are higher among people with long-standing health problems.
20 per cent of households, where one person is seriously ill, reported there was at least one occasion in the last 12 months where they failed to pay a utility bill on time due to financial difficulties.
That compares to a rate of 7.1 per cent where no one was described as activity limited.
The risk of poverty rate for people with a self reported chronic illness was 18.6 per cent, compared to 10.3 per cent for those without a chronic illness.
One in two households with a severely limited household member regarded total housing costs as a heavy financial burden.
