Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am conscious of many of the arguments being put forward by Deputies, which is the reason this is being phased in over a long period. An effective date of 1 May in practical terms means that the increase will not apply until September or October, when they commence purchasing solid fuels for the winter period. When it is further increased in 2014, there will not be a full year effect until 2015 because again the date of implementation is May 2015. Choices have to be made. There is an environmental agenda, which includes commitments to reduce carbon levels. Solid fuels, comparative to other fossil fuels, are the larger generator of carbon CO₂.

On poorer people being disproportionately affected by this, no change is proposed in the fuel allowance under the national fuel scheme to assist with home heating. This is payable to people on long-term social welfare payments and will continue to be paid for 26 weeks in 2013. The carbon tax will apply on the generality of solid fuel consumption. However, the fuel allowance will be maintained to facilitate people who need assistance with heating their homes. Many of the difficulties that arise in this regard relate to poor insulation of homes rather than a lack of money for fuel. Since 2000, almost 93,000 energy poor homes have received energy performance upgrades under the warmer homes scheme. The expected spend on this scheme in 2012 is estimated to be more than €21 million. To end December 2012, just over 12,000 energy poor homes received energy performance upgrades. In 2012, the Keep Well and Warm booklet was reproduced and distributed to more than 64,000 individuals and energy affordability stakeholders. The Keep Well and Warm website was also updated. In consultation with key stakeholders work was carried out this year on the development of GIS mapping for energy poverty and new eligibility criteria.

The warmer homes strategy for affordable energy in Ireland set out 48 actions to be implemented over the life of the strategy, including activation of economies of scale and harnessing community effort through the introduction of an area-based approach to mitigating energy poverty. Many of the suggestions implicit in Deputy Boyd Barrett's contribution have been and will continue to be taken up. I expect the Minister with responsibility for energy will in the near future further reinforce schemes to ensure homes are more energy efficient.

On whether a switch to carbon-neutral products such as timber and logs is the answer, it is certainly an answer in rural areas. Many people in rural areas, in particular those in the farming community, have invested in a chain saw and have been planting small areas of their farms that are marginal with trees. That is quite common now. Also, solid fuel burners, which are being installed on a widespread basis now, produce a great deal of heat from the burning of logs and are very efficient. However, a storage issue arises in terms of log and timber burning in city areas. Many people living in cities, in particular those living in social housing, do not have storage space for a lorry load of logs. One would need a lot of logs or timber to get one through the winter. The same applies in regard to turf, which people from rural communities will understand. A person whose home is on a large site can stack the turf, etc., at the gable end but where space is at a premium storage of logs and peat, etc., is not an answer to the problem.

While we are following one agenda by increasing the carbon tax on solid fuel, we are also following another agenda in terms of preventing people on long-term social welfare payments from being affected by cold winters. In this regard, the fuel allowance will be maintained for the full 26 weeks in 2013. There is also a move towards more carbon neutral products and the insulation of homes and so on. All of these actions taken together form a pattern.