Professor John FitzGerald:

Having been there, they do not have a corporate view. Anyway, if one looks at the Dr. Barra Roantree paper, it looks at a range of different options, as does the Dr. Lynch paper, both of which I am familiar with.

In terms of looking at fuel poverty, the Dr. Roantree paper, the Dr. Lynch paper, the Dr. Sue Scott paper of 1992 and a whole series of papers have looked at this. The Dr. Roantree paper, in particular, shows how one could give back the money in different ways which would leave people on low incomes better off. What the Dr. Roantree paper stated about the use of the fuel allowances is it will make those in receipt of fuel allowances significantly better off but the problem is that there are people who are not in receipt of fuel allowances who will not receive the compensation. Dr. Roantree, if one looks at the model there, recommended a broader change in social welfare. One does not spend all the money but in spending 30% to 50% on compensating, one could ensure that those in the bottom 30% of the income distribution would not be affected. The research is there. It is open to the Oireachtas and, through the Oireachtas, the Government.