Sheila Terry (Fine Gael)

Nothing is more important for the elderly than staying warm but, regrettably, we regularly go into homes that are cold. Unfortunately, many of the elderly mind their money and take care with how much heat they use. This is, therefore, an important allowance and one that the Minister should examine.

I accept that the pension has increased and the Minister feels this is a better way to provide pensioners with additional money which they can spend however they want but many elderly people like things to be categorised, they like them to be in boxes. If they have a fuel allowance, they know how much they can spend. By increasing the fuel allowance, we would ensure our elderly are kept warm during the winter.