Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

My point is that there is an urgent need here. It is more urgent now because solid fuel prices are rising. These households really have their backs to the wall. One can ask anybody in the Society of St. Vincent de Paul around the country. They have their backs to the wall because they have high energy usage. The heat is flying out through the walls and the windows and they need to be prioritised. The number of them is reducing. Work is being done on houses built in the 1980s and 1990s. In the 1980s, there was a level of insulation. In the 1990s, there was a slight improvement with the introduction of skinny double glazing, at least. There was gradual improvement and that is all welcome. Some of that is now being completely replaced. While people are on their second set of double glazed windows, these houses with no insulation whatsoever are freezing, which is the only way I can describe it.