Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)

I thank the Minister for his predictable reply. Is he aware that radon is a naturally occurring gas with no colour, smell or taste? According to the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland report, this gas, about which the Minister has issued booklets, causes 200 preventable deaths per annum. Is the Minister aware that, according to the RPII, 250,000 people and 100,000 homes are exposed to this risk? Is he not concerned that one of the hotspots identified by the institute is his constituency of County Wicklow? Surely he is aware that deaths are preventable in this case. The cost of treating one cancer patient with lung cancer up to the time of death is estimated to be €1 million, while the cost of preventing deaths caused by radon gas is €15,000. Will the Minister consider re-introducing the grant scheme I introduced in the mid-1990s to encourage and assist people to exclude this deadly poison from their homes?

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