Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

I remember introducing a scheme in the Gaeltacht to include central heating in houses for older people. I would go into a house where there was a roaring fire but there was no thermal quality to the house and it would be perishing cold. There would be plenty of turf, probably enough to heat a much bigger house, but the heat all escaped. It is all about energy regulations.

Our relationship is with the tenant so there are two reasons why it might not be a good idea to pay the landlord directly. First, we do not have a tenant relationship with the landlord, and to do so would create implications beyond payment of money. Second, the tenant has the right to privacy in his financial affairs. Some people are on variable incomes and rent supplement varies depending on income. We reference rent supplement to social welfare payments plus any other payment above €75 per week, deducting that amount from the rent supplement. If that was paid directly to the landlord, he would know the tenant's income and that would be unfair on that tenant. We operate the scheme in favour of the tenant, whereby he can assign the payment directly to the landlord and we have instructed CWOs to ensure that is a convenient option. Where a tenant asks that the money be given to him or her, we pay the money to the tenant who then adds it to his or her personal contribution and gives the full rent to his or her landlord and in that way the landlord would not know the tenant's business. It would be only right to preserve the right of the tenant to make that call rather than to remove from him or her that option of a fairly personal nature.