Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for the reply. I join him in thanking all the emergency services and all the people who went out in the dark and wet, night and day, trying to get the electricity going again and all the people in the health services, especially those who visited old people - home helps, etc. - for all the great work they did.

The Minister of State said there are no regulations preventing stoves being put in to new houses. To get a loan and to achieve the BER rating that the banks demand, whatever business of the banks that is, people cannot have a stove or chimney. That is the hard fact.

Why will the Department not give the money to the local authority - in our case, Kerry County Council - to retrofit houses? They will not qualify for the retrofit grant if they do not take out the chimney. I am asking the Minister of State to deal with that and not to have the scenario where it is taking 12 months for householders to draw down the grant. One of the implications of that is that they have to take out the chimney. That requirement will have to be removed.

I am depending on the Minister of State and the Government to sort this out because it is costing double or triple. If these three houses had a rub of paint and a few necessary things done to them, they would have been roaring again after two months at most. It has now been 12 months or more. How long more will this take? It will not happen in a couple of days. Three houses have been gutted in Kilgarvan village to take the chimneys out of them. Please stop this. I ask the Minister of State to do just that.

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