Fianna Fail has called for a Green Deal Agency to be established after working families are being priced out of measures to reduce their heating bills and carbon footprints.

Deputy Tim Dooley made the call after the Government announced a new grant of up to €3,500 towards the purchase and installation of heat pumps.

He said: "This new grant is all well and good, but too many families and homeowners simply do not have the means to fund these important improvements that will save them money in the long run.

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"My concern is for the ordinary families who don’t have a spare five or six thousand euro that's needed to pay for these types of works.

"Making our housing stock greener and more sustainable is the right thing to do. However, we need to be looking at measures that make the biggest impact.

"Fianna Fáil believes that all families should be allowed to benefit from government supports to go green.

"Our proposal to establish a new Green Deal Agency would ensure a simple system for all households to access easy finance for the purpose of upgrading their homes."

(CD/MH)