asked the Minister for the Environment if he is prepared to make money available to allow local authorities replace the prefabricated fireplaces in homes of tenant purchasers.

As in the case of house purchasers generally, responsibility for the upkeep and maintenance of houses purchased from a local authority scheme rests with the individual purchasers. Subject to the normal grant conditions, the replacement of a defective prefabricated chimney by a masonry one would qualify for a grant under my Department's house improvement grant scheme provided that there is no existing masonry chimney in the house and a solid fuel/chimney grant was not paid in the previous seven years. Eligible applicants could also avail of improvement loans from their local authority.

Is the Minister of State aware that when these chimneys were put in they were considered safe but have now proved to be unsafe, that many of the tenant purchasers who bought their homes when they had jobs are now unemployed and are incapable of taking advantage of any loans and that this can only be handled as if these people were tenants? I would ask the Government to introduce an emergency scheme to put them in the same category, where these prefabricated chimneys are concerned, as ordinary tenants.

When people purchase their local authority houses they are responsible for the maintenance of the houses.

The Minister will be responsible for whatever fires take place.

The blame should be squarely laid on the people who were responsible for building these low cost houses, the people on that side of the House.

Question Time has now concluded. I am moving on to the next item.

Order please.