Keith Swanick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach and welcome the Minister.

In this morning's headlines, there is an unfortunate and heart-breaking story of an elderly man in County Armagh who has passed away as a result of suspected carbon monoxide poisoning. This devastation has been made all the more tragic by the fact that this was another utterly preventable death.

At the end of September, during carbon monoxide awareness week, I raised the issue of local authorities' obligation to play a role in this silent killer. In Ireland, six people on average die unnecessarily from carbon monoxide poisoning each year. A 2015 study found that 1.2 million are currently living in houses without carbon monoxide alarms, including 100,000 people over the age of 65 who live alone. Furthermore, almost half of these people do not even know where to purchase a carbon monoxide alarm.

After I raised this matter here in the Seanad, I wrote to the chief executive of each county and city council asking them to provide, in tabular form, the number of local authority houses they have and the number of those the boilers of which they have serviced in 2014 and 2015. The responses varied greatly. Some local authorities did not reply at all, some simply provided the figures of the number of boilers they serviced and others stated that it was not their responsibility. As the largest landlord in the State, I strongly believe clarification is needed in regard to local authority housing and I would ask the Minister, Deputy Naughten, whether he is in agreement with the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Deputy Coveney, that there is no requirement to carry out an annual service on home heating boilers.

Today, I also want to highlight radon, a radioactive colourless odourless tasteless gas occurring naturally as a decay product of radium. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer after smoking and it is responsible for up to 250 lung cancer cases in Ireland every year. My party colleague, Councillor David Costello of Dublin City Council, brought this serious concern to my attention, and while almost every household in Ireland is familiar with carbon monoxide and its effects, not too many are familiar with or respect the harmfulness of radon gas.Last week, the EPA reported radon levels 24 times the accepted level in a house in County Wicklow. That is the equivalent of 17 chest X-rays every day. Currently, the agency provides a testing service for radon gas in the home, which costs €50, a not insignificant cost for low-income families given the financial constraints of the past decade. However, the real cost kicks in when a house is determined to have high levels of radon following testing. If it is found to have a high level for radon, which is a cancer-causing gas, the EPA will advise the carrying out of remediation works, which can cost between €500 and €12,000 and can achieve a reduction of up to 98%, depending on how much is spent. There is no grant available to alleviate the cost of remediation. The Government is ignoring the International Atomic Energy Agency report by not providing remediation grants.

The home renovation incentive scheme allows homeowners and landlords to qualify for tax credits equal to 13.5% of the cost of renovation, repair or improvement works. The scheme covers work needed to reduce radon levels in the home but the household needs to spend at least €5,000 to qualify for the scheme, which rules out most remediation works below this threshold. The over-65s may be eligible for a grant to have the work carried out under the housing aid for older people scheme but this is at the discretion of individual local authorities. There is no consistency and there is no rhyme or reason to provision. Some of the most vulnerable members of society are eligible for funds to carry out remedial works while others are not.

We need to address these silent killers, ensure compliance with boiler servicing to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning and demand a remediation incentive for dealing with radon gas with consistency in its allocation.