Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

The most effective means of ensuring people's homes are adequately heated is to install adequate insulation. The Deputy will be aware that older people tend to live in older houses which may be poorly insulated. It is important that we seek to have an active programme for insulating houses. In the case of local authority houses built in the 1970s, for example, the insulation standards are very low.

The Deputy should bear in mind that in the case of a pensioner couple where both people are aged over 66, the combined State contributory pension is €436, a significant increase since 2004. In addition, the couple are entitled to household benefits and free travel. That level of provision is the reason the ESRI found that elderly persons have for some years been at a lower risk of poverty, whether measured simply in terms of income or using measures of deprivation. We should also bear in mind that the pensions and other payments older people receive are spent largely in this country. It is important from an economic point of view that they should continue to have that level of purchasing power.

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