Withdrawal of oil burner grants impacting elderly - Mayo councillor

ELDERLY people who need to replace oil burners or solid fuel cookers are no longer getting grant aid to do so.

They can, however, get support to repair the equipment they have - something that can prove more costly and less effective.

Up until last December it was possible to get grants for replacement, but Councillor Gerry Murray said they have now been withdrawn.

The situation means there are now people in their eighties whose oil burner is clapped out, beyond repair, or others where the cost of the repairs is more than it would be to buy a new one, he told a meeting of Mayo County Council.

Councillor Murray called on the government to restore this concession to these people, saying it's causing a lot of problems.

It's a 'harsh decision', he commented.

The point was made by Councillor Gerry Coyle that reconditioned old boilers would put out twice the emissions of a new one.

Director of services Tom Gilligan confirmed the grants allowing for new boilers have been taken away.

It's unlikely they will come back, he said. That would be a government decision.