Dr. Tricia Keilthy:

On the Senator's point about having to wait before one can be eligible for fuel allowance if one becomes unemployed, one of our recommendations to the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection is, for example, to close that gap for people and to make fuel allowance available to those in receipt of the working family payment. Many people who are working are struggling to meet their energy costs. There needs to be a broader base in terms of that cohort of people.