Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)

I must admit that there were no yummy mummies when I was a mummy. Other things are needed as well. Local authorities are installing central heating in all their old properties, starting with houses occupied by people over the age of 60, which is a very good idea. As someone who was born and reared in a corporation house, I can tell the House that it can be quite cold when a three-bedroom house has just one fire, which is an open coal fire with no back boiler. It is essential to have central heating in such houses. However, I was shocked a few months ago to discover that local authorities are installing central heating systems in houses which have had their gas supplies cut off for the past year, and the residents of which cannot afford to have the supplies turned back on.

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