Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My question concerns local authority housing stock. It relates to energy and it is also aimed at the departmental officials. I have observed planned maintenance in my county in recent years. Houses that undergo planned maintenance and upgrades have had ranges removed and oil-fired central heating systems installed. From an energy efficiency point of view it seems that once one commits people to oil, one is restricting their choice in terms of fuel. Gas is not being installed and solid-fuel ranges are being removed. The best that can be done is that the range is left there until it falls into disrepair, or an open fire is sometimes left intact. The situation arises for people in local authority houses that they cannot afford a fill of oil. They either have a range that is still functioning or they have an open fire in a room but they cannot buy oil. One cannot buy it in small quantities in the same way that one can buy a bag of coal. There does not appear to be any prospect that the price of oil will decrease. From an energy policy point of view such expenditure by local authorities does not seem the right direction to take.

In terms of fuel poverty, it is shocking to realise that what is being presented is a supposedly better system. New windows and doors are also supplied. If people cannot afford to put oil in a tank they must survive in the cold. That is how it will be in the future. From the perspective of energy efficiency and fuel poverty, how do the officials from the Department propose to address that? It is a serious issue.