asked the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Energy if he will press the oil companies which supplied a grade of heating oil unsuitable for severe winter conditions (a) to reimburse their customers for loss caused by heating system failure; and (b) to ensure that there will be no repetition of last month's experience in this regard.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Unsuitable Heating Oil.
15.
I have asked the Institute for Industrial Research and Standards to furnish a report on the causes of and possible solution for the problems which arose during the recent cold spell as a result of the clogging of filters by gas/diesel oil in central heating systems, farm machinery, trucks and other equipment.
Until a full report is available I am not in a position to say what, if any, action by me may be called for.
It is my own fault that because I talked through the beginning of the Minister's reply I did not hear it. Is the Minister agreeable in principle to the proposal that he should take some action vis-á-vis these oil companies in that they appear to have been culpable in supplying an unsuitable grade?
I am not in a position to say what action, if any, may be called for until I get the report but if they were culpable I will certainly do what I can to get them to honour whatever their responsibilities are. In the last resort I presume those responsibilities are legal responsibilities which, in the absence of voluntary agreement, might have to be enforced in court.
I see that. I hope the Minister will agree that a householder who gets a bill for £10 or £15 for freeing his system is going to feel not generously dealt with by the Government or the companies if he has to go to the District Court to recover his £15. Let me declare an interest; I am in that situation.