Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

A primary contributor to fuel poverty is not the absence of money to pay for fuel, but the inefficiency of household heating systems. For this reason, the work being carried out by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government on housing standards and energy issues is important. It should not just be a case of giving pensioners money to heat houses if that heat is going straight out the window. For this reason, it is important that Departments work together.

Deputy Enright referred to the Institute of Public Health in Ireland's figures on winter mortality rates, namely, excess deaths during winter over other months. Some 70% of those deaths are due to cardiovascular disease, 69% are due to respiratory illness and 40%——

See this speech in context