Mark Wall (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I begin by joining with members in sending my condolences to Mr. Kelly's family. I also thank all of our visitors and guests today.

Many of my questions have been asked already but I want to follow up on a few. HAP inspections are something that I come across regularly in my line of work, especially with local authority houses. Is the SEAI involved with local authorities, what is the level of problems out there at the moment? I know it was mentioned earlier, but is there any mechanism where the SEAI and local authorities could come together more quickly in trying to get solutions for landlords. Landlords are saying that they do not have the funding and so on, and then the rental property is being lost. That has a knock-on effect. Are conversations about HAP inspections happening between the SEAI and local authorities?

The second matter relates to the warmer homes scheme. It is a great scheme. I missed the comment regarding the average length of time earlier, so maybe it could be confirmed as to when that is actually happening. There are 36 contractors involved with the scheme at the moment. That came about through a tender process. Is there a new tender process in play to try to increase the number? It was stated that if we got more contractors, the waiting times could come down. Is a new tender due or when will the next tendering process be? Is the SEAI actively looking for more contractors to become part of the scheme?

I am not sure whether the matter was dealt with already, but I have a question about windows and doors. I came in during the conversation on the housing aid grant and that a person has to be 66 years of age. Is there a specific grant from the SEAI in respect of windows and doors for those under the age of 66. This is a major issue for many of us who are chasing changes in the housing aid grant. It comes up on a regular basis.

I have a question about the app referred to by the Chair. The number of applications has increased continually. It quadrupled in the recent years. I still come across people weekly, and even daily, who are not aware of what they can obtain under the warmer homes scheme and so on. Some cases I have come across in the past couple of weeks are really horrific to say the least. The people involved need assistance now. Are there priority cases under the warmer homes scheme or is it strictly based on time in the scheme? I also have a question about the inspectors. What is the average waiting time for inspectors to go out to inspect the warmer homes application scheme, noting that an inspection will then have to be followed up with work that could take longer.

Deputy Ó Cathasaigh spoke about the health benefits of retrofitting. This is something I come across, as do, I am sure, other members, particularly regarding rooms that need ventilation, heat and so on. Once the work is done, there are health benefits. This is something we miss when we talk about retrofitting. It is something we should be speaking about more.

My final question is for the SVP. I thank it for the work it does. As the Chair is aware, I have previously raised community welfare services and additional needs payments. Yesterday, at a couple of clinics I held, an issue arose regarding additional needs payments, the length of time they are taking, the amount of documentation involved and so on that people experiencing fuel poverty have to deal with in order to apply for and obtain additional needs payments at their time of most need. Has the SVP come across this? Has it any comments about it? Is it working with the community welfare service to try to help those people obtain those grants more quickly?