Latest £100 home heating oil grant set to be paid out by ‘summer at earliest’
A vital support scheme aimed at helping Northern Irish families amid rising fuel costs is not expected to be delivered until this summer, Stormont’s Communities Minister has confirmed. The announcement follows recent region-wide protests against rising energy prices.
Executive ministers approved £19.2 million for the initiative on Thursday, adding to the £17.2 million in support the UK Government announced last month. The Stormont scheme will allow 300,000 low-income families to apply for a £100 prepaid card that can be used at home heating oil suppliers.
Eligibility includes people receiving income-based benefit, disability benefit, state pension or whose income is below £30,000. However, Gordon Lyons announced that significant aid will not reach households until the summer at the earliest.
“It will take at least three months to implement this,” he told BBC Radio Ulster.
Mr Lyons said the plan was “not everything we want to be done for people in Northern Ireland” and called on the UK Government to do more.
“I fully understand and accept the huge increases in costs and it is not enough to fully cover this, but we will do what we can with what we have,” he said.
“But ultimately if we are really serious about helping people here, we need to see our government in Westminster doing the best they can with the levers they have, levers that are not open to us, and we need to see them do it simply and quickly by cutting fuel duty, looking at duty and VAT, that’s what can bring immediate relief to people.”
Mr Lyons added: “This help from London in terms of our taxes will not only help people in households, but will also help businesses who are really struggling.
“I want to say this very clearly to the people in Northern Ireland today: I understand that this is not enough, I understand that it will take time but we have limited resources but we are doing our best to do what we can as quickly as possible.”
