Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)

People are worried that they will not be able to afford to heat their homes or will not be able to afford the hot water needed to bath their children. Such families are operating with one fire in the sitting room. I see television advertisements every winter reminding people to check on their elderly neighbours and to make sure they have enough heat. It is a good thing to check on one's neighbour, but it should not be one's job as a neighbour to ensure that one's elderly next door neighbour has enough heat to stay alive. That is the Government's job. It appears we are asking our elderly people, who made the sacrifices that created the Celtic tiger, to make further sacrifices. I am not an economist, but I find it staggering to read certain figures. Even though the ESB made a profit of €250 million last year, it is being given an increase of the size we are seeing here. Of that €250 million, the Government took between €70 million and €72 million, and yet the fuel allowance is €14. The allowance does not buy a bag of smokeless coal anymore, and it definitely will not pay one's gas or ESB bills. The Government is a disgrace. It cannot keep the roofs over people heads or a fire in the hearth.

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