Yesterday in the audiovisual room a number of groups including Age Action Ireland held a briefing on their joint statement on energy poverty. They told us that nine out of ten of our older people are using fossil fuels to heat their homes, and half of our older people are using oil. Will the Minister advise whether the Government will commit to raise the fuel allowance to help those who struggle to heat their homes? Will the Minister introduce a retrofitting scheme specifically for older people to assist those on fixed incomes who are least able to afford it? Will he consider that, please?

I met Age Action on a number of occasions in the past six months as this energy price spike crisis evolved. That is part of the reason there was a significant increase in the fuel allowance in last year's budget. There was a further significant increase in it twice during the spring months. We agreed with the social partners during the summer to consider what further measures we would introduce in September's budget. In terms of what we can target in our retrofitting schemes or social welfare provisions, there is analysis that shows what particular categories and particular houses are most at risk. I agree we must work with the likes of Age Action to target and identify them.