Mr. Alan Flynn:

Further to what Mr. Egan said regarding the question about fuel allowance and warmer homes, the warmer homes scheme under the SEAI has a range of qualifying schemes, not just fuel allowance, although that is one of the major ones. A range of social welfare schemes other than fuel allowance provide access into that scheme.

On the point about bank account requests, the Department works with customers to get the information they require to support their claims, including in respect of means. We have to get the relevant information to support the customer's position. In respect of the bank accounts, this is very private information for individuals. We are very conscious of that and work with people to get the relevant information that is necessary to support that, while being mindful of the responsibility to the Oireachtas to manage the overall budget and being careful to ensure we are providing the relevant payment at the right rate based on the correct means evidenced.

There are a range of different capital assessments in place at the moment. As my colleague said, however, it is important that we are getting the principles right and getting back to the purposes of the schemes and why the assessments are at the rates that they are. Again, it is not a question of standardisation in terms of having a single means test. Obviously, the range of 60, 70 or 80 schemes the Department has provides for different contingencies. We do not think there is a one-size-fits-all approach, so we want to try to provide appropriate levels of capital assessment given the purposes of the underlying schemes.