Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to mention the issues of rents, which loads of Members have mentioned. I do not like to say it is at crisis point because it has nearly gone beyond that at this stage. In the two clinics I run, one in Kilkenny and one in Bagenalstown in Carlow, I had an individual in each, one of whom is due to be out of his or her property this Saturday and the other of whom is due to be out in the next two months. There is no hope of finding anything at all for them and it is so difficult. It is even difficult to know what to say to people in this situation because I ask them if they have applied to various landlords about anything that might be coming up and everybody is applying for everything. At the moment there are ten properties in Kilkenny and nine in Carlow. Then there is the situation with HAP. For example, if you are single you are entitled to €490 of HAP and you do not have a hope of reaching some of these properties listed at between €1,100 and €1,500 in some cases. We really need urgency on rental properties. I also want to make the point that not everyone qualifies for HAP. A lot of people are in real difficulty and do not qualify for any supports.

I want to mention the fuel allowance because this is a major issue with the cost of living. We have seen so many people, particularly elderly people, who should not be worried about the cost of heating and they are under pressure. I also want to mention that a lot of people do not qualify for fuel allowance. One of our suggestions was to include people who are on the working family payment in the fuel allowance and we need to look at that. In the longer term we need to look at the issue of retrofitting, which I know we will debate later this week in the Chamber. I want to make the point that a lot of the grants are not fit for purpose and that people do not have the balance of the funds. The SEAI has a waiting list of over a year, which is crazy. There is no common sense in some of the schemes and they really need to be fit for purpose. Those are the kind of schemes we should be looking at if we want to reduce costs for people in the long term and if we are serious about the climate.

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