Willie Penrose (Westmeath, Labour)

That is true. If he dyed his hair it would look great.

It is good that the Minister is innovative, has ideas and thinks out loud. Yesterday at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Social and Family Affairs, I paid tribute to the Combat Poverty Agency, as did Deputy Stanton. It was great to see the agency bring its report before the committee. Like us or lump us, we have been elected by the people. This is the sovereign Parliament of the Republic and Members are entitled to have such matters brought before them. The report has also been brought to the Minister's attention. We debated with the Combat Poverty Agency representatives and sometimes disagreed with them. It was not simply a love-in. The point of such meetings is that there should be tensions and good debates. It is not to pat one another on the back. At the same time, the fact that matters are brought before the joint committee and are debated is an acknowledgment that the primacy of the Oireachtas is important. The Minister's colleagues will let him know what transpired.

I wish to refer to another issue. Lately, I have spoken about the fuel allowance. I do not speak about matters lightly and am not an alarmist politician. That kind of politics did not get me elected, so I am not interested in it. However, when I feel strongly about an issue, I talk about it, although it may cost me votes. So be it. What about elderly people living in sheltered housing? One week before such people were due to receive their much needed fuel allowance, the Department of Social and Family Affairs notified them that it was being withdrawn from those who need it. This occurred when the weather was turning cold and on foot of a report from the British Meteorological Office stating this might be an especially cold winter. The allowance comes to €9 per week and many elderly people were distressed. This issue applies to Dublin in particular and may also apply to people in Cork living in sheltered housing. It does not apply so much to people in rural areas. These people will not receive the €9 fuel allowance, which came as a bombshell.

This is a disgrace. Most of those people pay an additional €6 per week because their fuel is provided as part of the local authority shelter. A sum of €6 paid 52 times comes to €312, while a sum of €9 paid 29 times comes to €261. This affects the Minister's constituency more than my own. In south-eastern Dublin, my colleague, Deputy Quinn, was extremely annoyed about it because it came as a bombshell to those people and to their elected representatives.

Yet again, a sneaky question on a form was responsible. I continually return to the root of a problem and wonder what great intellect came up with it. The form asks whether the applicant lives in local authority accommodation with central heating provided. If one is in sheltered accommodation, some heat is provided. However, there is no such a thing as a free lunch as far as the service providers are concerned. The people in question pay an extra €6. They used to receive €9 for 29 weeks while they paid an extra €6 for 52 weeks. They actually lost out.

I ask that we take the bull by the horns and restore the allowance. Not many people are involved. I believe the Department is saving something like €1,500 per week. That decision came from the Minister's Department. I believe the pension services office in Sligo was responsible. I have been informed that in the same week the notification arrived, the Department was trying to install three separate mobile telephone antennae on the roof of the pension services office in Sligo. I am sure the installations will generate some revenue.

Sheltered housing is to be found in cities rather than rural areas. These people have made a valuable contribution and expect that we will at least look after them by providing them with some heat. This decision should be reversed immediately. I ask the Minister's officials to take careful note of this. It angers me considerably to see the Department behaving like Inspector Clouseau by making savings of a miserable few shillings from elderly people who have put their backs into this country. This leaves such people exposed.

The fuel allowance has not been increased since the beginning of 2002. As I stated, it currently stands at €9 and does not cover the cost of a bag of coal. The recent dramatic rise in the cost of fuel means that €9 is worth much less than it was two months ago. Home heating oil has increased by 21%, the cost of gas has increased by 25% and the price of electricity has also risen. I merely reiterate comments made by the Minister's colleagues. We must increase the fuel allowance in this budget. The Combat Poverty Agency made that point yesterday in its presentation to the Joint Committee on Social and Family Affairs. This must be done because it is extremely important. As Deputy Stanton noted yesterday, there are two ways of doing this. One can elongate the period of time or increase the amount. I favour increasing the amount.

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