Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

A new idea has been suggested, so I ask the Minister of State not to just repeat what the Government is already doing. I know there are SEAI grants for insulation. One of the problems with them is that they are only useful to people who are already fairly well off. The proposal that has come to me, which is a good one, is that we have a grant scheme particularly directed at lower- and middle-income households to do attic conversions and expand their homes to provide extra bedroom space. In the same way we are giving lots of handouts to developers and wealthy people, let us give that money to ordinary people who could not otherwise afford to do it, to help ease the housing and overcrowding crisis. It is a sensible, practical proposal that I ask the Government to seriously consider.

See this speech in context