Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not want to give anyone a false impression of the Minister's position, as he is clear on this - the budget is set for this year. Deferring this tax would effectively change a budget that had already passed through the Houses. I appreciate the points raised by the Deputies. The same have been raised in my constituency. This tax is difficult for people. One of the Minister's reasons for choosing to increase the tax on 1 May was that the winter months would be behind us and we would have some time to get ready for the next winter period. We held a good debate on this matter in the context of the Finance Bill.

I managed to get some information from other Departments in preparation for this debate, as the strategy on warmer homes is cross-departmental. The State has already invested significant funds in this regard. For instance, the national fuel scheme is a direct subsidy to the poorest homes and effectively amounts to €20 per week household supplement. More than €280 million is spent on it. This is rightly welcome, given the difficulties posed by fuel poverty, which is an issue for people with little income.

On 18 February, my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, announced a significant retrofitting programme for local authority housing amounting to more than €30 million this year. This will make a considerable difference. This year's spend on the energy efficiency upgrade is €57 million. I also understand that a total of 105,000 homes have benefited in recent years from retrofits under better energy awareness housing schemes.

We will solve this problem by improving thermal efficiency, particularly in poorer households. The Government is committed to doing this and is rolling out a substantial investment programme. We need to continue this initiative.

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