Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I rise today to raise two matters. First, I welcome the business supports that we are putting in place in the budget to tackle the high energy costs and rising bills and other costs for small businesses. I know that they have to go to the Revenue Commissioners. I am going back to an old chestnut that I have raised here. The Leader wrote to both the Minister and the Revenue Commissioners at the time. Revenue offices are still not open to the public. People are trying to get information. Did the Leader get a response to her letter? I ask that question because it is an important issue. The Revenue Commissioners are a public office and a public service. They need to be open to members of the public especially in this time of uncertainty for small businesses given the rising costs. It is very important that people are able to engage with the Revenue Commissioners.

The second matter I wish to raise relates to the launch in Limerick yesterday of an initiative by libraries to make home-energy saving kits available to library members. This is a very important issue. There is much emphasis on retrofitting and it has been suggested that people should apply for grants to get work carried out on their home. My understanding is that these energy-saving kits give people a rough idea of what the problems are in a home. They help to identify if there is not much insulation in an area. If they are placed near a cooker or kettle they can tell how much energy is being consumed. They are able to send a report to people on how they can reduce their costs. These kits should be rolled out to every library in Ireland. The home-energy saving kits identify common issues in homes and give people an idea of where they need to start. They also identify if there is poor ventilation in a room. These are important issues and I would like to see the roll-out of these kits to all libraries across Ireland. The kits would help householders to reduce their costs if they cannot afford to get a full survey carried out in their home.