Given the lengthy waiting times under the warmer homes scheme, will the Government bring forward or amend existing legislation so that vulnerable applicants, especially older people living alone, are prioritised? Recently I dealt with an 89-year-old lady, a constituent of mine, who has been approved for the scheme. She has been told it may take up to two years before her works are even started or completed. Her home is cold and damp but her age, her health or the condition of her home cannot be taken into account when determining the priority. I appreciate that clear criteria must apply to any national scheme to ensure fairness and accountability but there must be scope for exceptional cases and common sense must prevail. The warmer homes scheme is essential for vulnerable isolated people. Flexibility would ensure the benefit reaches those who need it most when they need it most.

Perhaps we do not need legislation to make this accommodation or to make these changes. In terms of broader retrofitting schemes, the Minister is more going directly to the person, with the grants going directly to the contractors, to get the job done and to try to bypass some of the bureaucratic processes. This is different, in the context of the warmer homes scheme. I will talk to the Minister about this because he is an open kind of guy and he is into reform and doing things as expeditiously as possible. Certainly in the case of the 89-year-old which Deputy Aird has outlined, it seems very clearly urgent and the kind of case we want to support. We have to understand, to be fair to the scheme itself, that people have to try to administer it.

I will talk to the Minister to see what he can do in respect of that, if the Deputy will give us the details of the case.