Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)

If the amount of hot air that comes from the Government could be channelled into the poorer households, we would be doing very nicely, but it is not.

The issue of the fuel allowance must be dealt with quickly. The Minister for Social Protection talks of his wonderful rambles through Éireann and refers to 4% here and 5% there, and to the fact that some people are uncomfortable in their homes and that lone parents tend to be poorer than everyone else. We know this. We want to know why the promise made in the budget has not been delivered upon. Why is the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government talking up the increase in fuel allowances while the Taoiseach is trying to slap it down? The Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Ó Cuív, is not telling us anything at all although he is the Minister responsible. That is not coherent government. Let us be practical. Given that taxes announced in the budget are always imposed, let us see the commitment to which I refer honoured.

Deputy Jan O'Sullivan asked who regulates the regulator. It is very simple to answer that question, it is the Minister. I am very uncomfortable with the abandonment of responsibility evident when I hear the Taoiseach or Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Ryan, talk about the regulator as if he were above the clouds or God the Father. It is implied that the diktat comes down and we must all understand this is the way the world is and that it cannot be challenged. That is not the way it is. Under the Electricity Regulation Act 1999, the Minister has the power to direct the regulator on any matter that he considers appropriate. It is clear in the legislation that the regulator must report on how he has implemented the directive of the Minister.

If this debate has but one result it should be that the Minister should tell the regulator to stop acting the way he is doing, as a little god, in terms of directing the big utility companies to misspend their customers' money by way of a rebranding exercise that nobody needs or wants and which will cost a lot of money, be it €40 million or €80 million. That money could be ploughed back. Utility companies are in a position to direct at least part of that money towards benefiting people who are living in fuel poverty and in terror that they will no longer be able to turn on the cooker to cook the dinner to feed their children or turn on the electric fire to keep themselves warm. These are people who are living in fuel poverty and are terrified they will no longer be able to turn on the cooker to cook food to feed their children or to turn on the electric fire to keep themselves warm. That is a reality we all thought was part of our past. We are now back to the future. Let us get real and let us ensure this debate produces results.

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