People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll has welcomed today's announcement of a heating oil support scheme, but warned it falls far short of what struggling households actually need.
Carroll said: "This support for households facing crippling fuel costs is welcome, but the Executive’s scheme is too little and it has taken far too long. Families have been burning through their savings, cutting back on heat, and going cold while ministers sat on their hands. A £100 voucher barely touches the sides when heating oil bills have soared to punishing levels. The cost of living crisis didn't wait for ministers to get their act together, and neither did the debt that many families have accumulated just trying to keep warm.”
"I'm also deeply concerned that households relying on gas heating have been left out entirely. Gas prices have also experienced severe inflationary pressure and those families are facing exactly the same crisis. Any comprehensive support package worth its name needs to reflect that reality.”
"The Executive will pat itself on the back today, but the truth is this scheme is unambitious and belated. Ministers have been pointing fingers at Westminster while people go cold. Some have even been cheerleading the US and Israel’s warmongering across the Middle East - the very activity that has caused this crisis.”
"What people need is a comprehensive, properly funded response, including fuel caps: not a one-off voucher and a shrug."