Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

Will the Leader consider a debate next week on the free fuel allowance for the elderly? There are some 285,000 people in receipt of such allowances, but costs have spiralled. The cost of 1,000 litres of oil is now €660, a bag of coal costs €6.50 and a bale of briquettes costs €2.85. The allowance amounts to approximately €9 per week. Revenue is accruing from oil and petrol sales and this should be redistributed, not to us but to those who need it most. This would be the quickest way to gain support. This will be the winter of discontent unless something is done for the elderly, who need the fuel allowance more than anybody else. How could one of us live on a fuel allowance of €9 per week if spending——