Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)

That is what he announced. We were dealing with a Bill that was brought before us by the last government. I would be the first to admit that we had problems with it. We were trying to amend it but this was certainly a bolt from the blue.

The Bill also covers matters such as energy safety and energy theft, which are of vital importance for a number of reasons. Energy safety is paramount for industry practitioners, householders and the agriculture sector. I welcome those intentions as laid down in the Bill's provisions. I also welcome the stronger powers to combat energy theft. Businesses and families must carry their fair share of energy costs but energy theft is both dangerous and wrong. The Bill proposes powers to allow for entry to property and carrying out assessments and investigations where such ongoing problems are apparent.

There is a big difference between a person refusing to pay energy bills and being unable to do so. Such a refusal should be dealt with strictly but inability to pay is a different matter. I do not support recent cuts to the free fuel allowance that were introduced by the Government through sleight of hand because they will have a big effect on needy families. The figures on fuel poverty are very stark.

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland has outlined energy conservation schemes, which I welcome and support, although they are too intermittent. They were introduced by the last government and are being continued by the current Government, and they are badly needed. I do not know why it is that when we want to introduce such an innovative scheme, which is long overdue, there must be so much red tape, delays and intermittent funding. I am involved with Muintir na Tire, a national organisation that was awarded the contract for delivering this scheme in South Tipperary. I spoke earlier to the manager there who described the delays, form filling and transposition of invoices into the SEAI before rebates were paid. It beggars belief. In addition, is bizarre that our friends in the banks are not playing their part. A company has been established which took 28 people off the live register who are doing wonderful work on the fuel allowance scheme. Nonetheless, there is a large amount of red tape involved. One cannot operate any business without some kind of bank overdraft but they were flatly refused an overdraft. This is despite the fact that Muintir na Tire has been in operation since 1937 and has good relations with the banks. Thankfully, they got an overdraft through the credit union which got them out of a hole. They have big cash-flow problems because they must assess the houses concerned, buy materials, supply and install them, have them satisfactorily assessed and then submit their invoices. There are huge logjams there which cause delays. It is not fair to have managers in charge who must fight with the banks on a daily basis.

Deputy Catherine Murphy raised a topical issue earlier concerning the impact of banks that are not Government-supported. She outlined the problems that small businesses have with such banks, as they try to survive from day to day and week to week. The banks are just not playing ball. In the case of South Tipperary, whether the logjam is in Departments or the SEAI, it is heart-rending and unfair. Those concerned with the project do not know if they will be able to keep people off the live register for another week or so, in spite of having commitments to assess houses within deadlines. This is a wonderful scheme but its operation needs to be streamlined. At this stage, it should be running correctly. If the budget is available it should be free-flowing, albeit with checks and balances. We are way behind in energy conservation and are inefficient. I welcome the energy reduction programme, which is important.

The energy efficiency fund is another important feature of the Bill, which is welcome although it will require a great deal of work to implement. I also welcome the security of tenure for workers who transferred from companies such as the ESB and Bord Gáis Éireann to other areas. The numbers of those involved may be small but the Bill takes care of those issues. They were encouraged to move so they must receive the protection to which they are entitled.

I am glad to have been able to address the aforementioned issues concerning the Bill. I thank the Chairperson for providing some protection against interruptions. I believe that my views are as important as anybody else's in this House. The social implications of this Bill are most important, including the links between fuel poverty, energy efficiency and energy theft. These are vital areas that must be sorted out and protected.

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