SDLP MLA Mark H Durkan has criticised a decision to delay the one-off £100 winter fuel payment for pensioner households until the end of March 2025.
Said the Foyle MLA: “It’s shameful that not one penny of support has been paid to pensioner households missing out on the Winter Fuel Payment this year.
“Before Christmas people were told the £100 payment for pensioners missing out on the fuel payment would be rolled out and paid ‘by March.’
“Now the Minister tells me they aim to get the money out ‘by the end of March.’
“This much anticipated payment won’t be made until spring and I’m afraid that will come too late for so many.
“The Minister said he recognised the need to get this money paid out as quickly as possible but that contradicts the response which I received to my Assembly Question.
“The Communities Minister and his Executive colleagues have neglected to meet the needs of the most vulnerable or make meaningful strides to tackle fuel poverty.
“This is about more than a single payment, we need to see long-term support for pensioners and low-income households forced to choose between eating or heating.
“Those affected have been left out in the cold this winter and pushed deeper into poverty.
“They could possibly be left out in the cold this spring as well, given the repeated failure of this Executive to understand the need for urgency on such issues.
“It’s simply not good enough.”
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