Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Okay. Actually I came at that a little wrongly. Mr. Deegan is correct when he says it is the other way around, but the point is that there are people in receipt of the invalidity pension who might well qualify under a means test but have chosen an invalidity payment because of medical criteria and it might be easier to get if they have the contributions. Some people who are on the invalidity pension might have the same income as someone who is on disability allowance, but they have not had to go through a means test. I urge the Department to keep that under review. Many people who are on invalidity pension have very low incomes and are under severe pressure. It includes many older people and people with severe disabilities and illnesses. It is important to keep it under review and I urge the Department to do so.

To put in place the air-to-water heat pump, a house is required to be at a certain energy-efficiency level. Otherwise the benefit of it will be lost. There is a fair difference between the targets and where we are at the moment. Much of that is to do with the fact that so many homes of people who are in fuel poverty are not suitable for heat pumps. For families and individuals who are currently in homes using solid fuels or kerosene and so forth, what is the solution? What is the Department looking at? What can be done in the short term to assist them with reducing their emissions and their costs?