Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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First of all I want to warmly welcome each of the witnesses who have come here today and who have given their time. I found it very informative to listen to their viewpoints. As always, Dr. Seán Healy, Ms Mary Murphy, Ms Bríd O'Brien and Dr. O'Connor made great common sense in a way that is very helpful to us on this committee.

My late mother always said to me that when it came to older people and pensions, to remember and never forget that a fiver a week to somebody on a pension can actually make a difference. My mother may have said that more to me in the years gone by, and nowadays perhaps €5 would not do much for a person. At the same time, when a person is on a fixed income, whatever that income is and especially if it is a pension, any type of assistance that can be given is important. An example would be what happened in the first week in January when additional people were able to qualify for the fuel allowance.

A number of years ago "energy poverty" was not a term used in the way that it is used now. Now it is a real problem. When people are afraid to open their ESB bills that is something we really must sit up and take notice of. When we see that the cost of producing energy in Ireland is 50% and 60% more than in other parts of Europe, we really must sit up and ask ourselves what we are going to do as a country so we can go forward without leaving people behind, be those older people, vulnerable people, people who are ill, or people with different difficulties in life such as unemployment or the general difficulties that certain sectors of society have. We must ensure that when we are going forward we are looking behind to make sure we leave no one behind.

This is why I appreciate the expert witnesses who come into this committee and give of their time. It is so important. I am not saying this in a plámás type of way; I am saying it is a fact. People know me straight enough to know that if I thought a person was raving or not making sense, or if I did not agree with them, I would certainly say it and I would not be one bit worried about putting somebody's nose out of joint by saying it.

There are very sensible and practical things that we must do in the future. I would hope that the cost of the ESB will come down of its own accord over the next weeks and months. Quite simply, it has to. It is unsustainable at present. This is not just for individuals but also for small businesses. We must remember that if the small business goes that is the local employment gone out of the locality. It is also about the service the small business offers, be it a hairdresser or a butcher. One would be surprised at the amount of butcher shops that are on the brink of closing due to their large energy costs given their use of freezers and so on. Local businesses are great places for employment and for providing a local service. They are affordable and they would help people. They would especially help the customers who they have built up over many years and they would never see the person short. We do not want to see this happening or the corner shops going. They provide a vital service in their communities. It is so important that the cost of energy comes down.

With regard to the fuel allowance, people really are struggling to keep themselves warm. I know this because I do a lot of clinics on the ground as I go around into every community. I do that as there are older and vulnerable people who are not able to come to the clinics and they might have an issue. I may have been given a message that I should call to so and so a person, and maybe not even a message from the person himself or herself. I consider it a privilege to be able to go into somebody's home because one learns so much going into a person's house. You would not be inside for five minutes when you would understand and see for yourself the difficulties that they have. I must be honest and say that there are times when it is upsetting. On many occasions when I have gone into a room I could clearly realise that the person is sitting in the room by a fire, which is predominantly an open fire, and the kitchen table is to one side and perhaps one could see a sofa - not a bed - on the other side of the room.

You quickly realise they are living in that room and use it as their bedroom, sitting room and kitchen. They literally live in that one room, which I find upsetting because sometimes the place might not be up to the standard that you would like or want it to be. Afterwards you try to help by engaging the services. If I live forever, I would never be able to express enough thanks to the voluntary groups and it could be members of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul who might supply dinners or the local authority that might assist by providing money towards doing up the property. Sometimes it takes a lot of cajoling to bring a person along and improve his or her lot but that is a responsibility that is on each and every one of us. It does not matter whether you are a Deputy or work as part of voluntary group, if you put yourself in the way of engaging with these people, then you are honour bound to talk up for them at committees like this and in forums like the Dáil or a local authority, or if you are a spokesperson who has the opportunity to be on the news like Dr. Seán Healy. I do not mean to go on too much about Dr. Healy but he has a voice, a respectability and a credibility so that when people see him on the 9 o'clock news or the 6 o'clock news, they will sit up and listen because they want to know what he is saying, want to hear the point that he is making and believe that he will make a credible argument for whatever. There is an onus of responsibility on us all to bring people with us and improve their lot because, whether they live in local authority houses or private houses, they might not have the best of everything. I do not want to sound negative because there is great work being done but we must do more.

On heating people's homes, the Chairperson knows me well enough to realise that I am not trying to make a political football out of the green agenda. However, when we talk about reducing emissions then yes, of course, we have to do our part for the environment but, my God, what happens if people only has a certain method of heating to heat their home? Please do not start talking about retrofitting grants because they mean nothing to a person who is 70, 80 or 90 years of age, as they cannot apply for or will not apply for a grant. All they want to do is to keep going and as they are not going to want to change the little system they have, they should be able to buy a bag of coal. To be blunt, if there is going to be smoke out of that coal then that is not their worry or priority. Their only priority is to have heat and that the heat will come out of the fire on to their bodies and keep warm their knees, elbows and hands, which maybe worked very hard. They want the heat to put life into their bones before they lie down for the night. We, as politicians, must make sure that we do not introduce legislation that means, for example, the price of a bag of coal goes completely out of control and reaches almost €50 for a 40 kg bag of smokeless coal. Anybody who knows about coal will tell you that smokeless coal does not give you the same amount of heat as what I would call traditional coal and that is a fact.

I plead with people to think about vulnerable people when they talk about targets and claim we have to do this and that. There is one thing that we have to do. We have to see after the people of the future but we have to see after the people of today also because not to do would make us so neglectful of our duty. We have a duty. Once we are able to get up in the morning and go out and fight for and stand up for people, then we must do so in a balanced way. I say that without making a political point.