Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)

The Green Party drove the carbon levy idea. This tax, when introduced, was on the basis of there being in place a special fuel scheme to protect people on low incomes. This appears to have been abandoned. Perhaps the Minister will explain how he can justify this. The carbon levy is to be doubled under the four year plan. The Government has not yet told us how the effect of this will be mitigated for low income families.

Before the Minister goes on again about the warmer homes scheme, that scheme, desirable and all as it is, is extremely limited in that one must be in receipt of the fuel allowance to qualify for it. Thousands of people living in substandard cold homes, whose fuel bills are high because of the condition of their homes, will never get help under the warmer homes scheme. What does the Minister propose to do to help those people?

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