£100 Northern Ireland Winter Fuel Payment mitigation 'too little, too late' warn Derry reps

In September, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, announced that only pensioners receiving Pension Credit would be eligible the £300 winter fuel payment.

Earlier this month Minister for Communities, Gordon Lyons, announced that £17 million in Stormont funding had become available to help Northern Ireland residents affected by the cut.

However, at November’s Full Council Meeting, People Before Profit councillor Shaun Harkin expressed concern that the mitigation, which would equate to just £100 per person and would not be paid until the spring, was “just not good enough”.

“People, are glad to hear there will be some support but the mitigation itself is very inadequate,” Councillor Harkin said. “We were told mitigation would cost the region £43 million, so Stormont could have done a lot better to stand with older members of our society who are at risk.

“It’s good that there isn’t an application process and it will remove a lot of bureaucracy, but it has only been announced now and the fact that the Minister is saying the money will be out by spring 2025 just isn’t good enough.”

SDLP councillor Brian Tierney agreed that a £100 payment in spring was “too little too late”.

He added: “People will be sitting over December, January and February in cold homes and then they’re going to get £100. It’s not good enough.”

Sinn Féin councillor Christopher Jackson agreed that the payment should be “more and delivered sooner”.

He reminded members that it was the British Government’s decision to make the initial cuts.

“I want to see the Executive do everything they can,” he said. “But the problem originated from a decision made by the British Government.

“We want to see [the payment] protected fully and immediately, but the fact remains that a Parliament, sitting in London, decided to take money away from pensioners here.”

Mayor and SDLP councillor Lilian Barr told members that officers will write to Westminster and Stormont to “send a strong message to release funding”.

Andrew Balfour,

Local Democracy Reporter.