asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he is aware that recipients of free fuel vouchers in the Dublin city area are experiencing great difficulty in obtaining fuel deliveries from the depots; and if he will have the complaints investigated.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Free Fuel Deliveries.
30.
If the Deputy will let me have details of any such complaints which may have come to his notice, I will have inquiries made.
I should point out, however, that arrangements for delivery of fuel under this scheme are not a matter for my Department. The scheme in the Dublin city area is operated by the Eastern Health Board on behalf of the Dublin Corporation.
Would the Parliamentary Secretary consider allowing these fuel vouchers to be cashed at any retail store dealing in fuel?
As I have indicated, that is a matter for the local authority.
Would the Parliamentary Secretary say if any information is available in his Department as to how the scheme is administered or if his Department seeks to get this information from the local authority and see if the scheme is administered efficiently in accordance with the money provided by the Department?
As I indicated in replies to supplementary questions on the previous question—to which I hope the Deputy was listening—my Department provides money to cover the cost of the fuel. Administration of the scheme, delivery and arrangements for delivery are matters for the local authority.
In the light of the Parliamentary Secretary's statement, would he not agree that there is an onus on the Department to see how the money is spent?
The Deputy is engaging in argument.
I suggest there is an onus on the Deputy as a member of the Eastern Health Board to pursue the matter there first.
The Eastern Health Board cannot give this information about how the money is spent.
Of course they can.