Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

A great deal needs to be done in the budget. It remains to be seen whether it will be but the pressure is on the Government. There is no doubt that people are under significant pressure. I agree with what the Minister of State has said about retrofitting. I would be delighted if people had alternatives that were not only environmentally better but also cheaper. We need to make sure that the schemes we have are changed slightly so that they become more targeted. I understand that does not fall under the Minister of State's remit necessarily.

The additional needs payment needs to be examined. There are still cases where it is incredibly difficult. Sometimes there are anomalous scenarios where people are under pressure but they cannot necessarily get the payment. I call for the household benefits package to be re-examined. Sometimes people do not have a gas point reference number, GPRN, when they are using a communal heating system. I am thinking of places such as Carlinn Hall where there is still major issues with the cost of the bills. It might be necessary to change the facility under the household benefits package.

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