Mr. Aidan O'Connor:

On the question about the local authority replacing solid fuel with oil, it had other alternatives. It could have put in a wood pellet or a wood-burning stove. It may have opted for oil because of the slightly cleaner rating an efficient oil boiler may have, but that is a subjective decision and it should be a well-informed decision by the local authority official. It was given a range of options from which to choose. It was not that the Department insisted on one type of fuel. Obviously, gas would have been preferable to either oil or the existing solid fuel stove but also the wood-burning stove and, as mentioned earlier, the question of biomass and so on.