£17m support for heating oil costs in NI is 'not enough', woman says

First Minister Michelle O'Neill has described the £17m pledged by the UK government to mitigate home heating oil bills in Northern Ireland as a "slap in the face".

It was confirmed on Monday that the Northern Ireland Executive will receive £17m to help "low-income households" in Northern Ireland with the rising cost of home heating oil.

The Sinn Féin vice-president said the funding "doesn't touch the surface of what is required" for households affected by the rising costs.

Almost two-thirds of homes (62.5%) in Northern Ireland use oil for heating - the highest proportion of UK nations.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said rising prices were an "urgent problem", and the package would deliver support to Northern Ireland "where this issue hits hardest".

Prices have risen sharply in recent weeks due to the global impact of the US-Israel war in Iran.

Speaking in the assembly, O'Neill said the available money should be "targeted at the lower-income households".

"I have to say, I find the £17m that's been put on the table today to be a real slap in the face - a real slap in the face to families that are struggling, who are already struggling to pay their oil bills," she said.

The first minister said that when she met Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer last week, she "pushed him very hard in terms of what he was going to do".

"I have to say that what's been announced today doesn't cut it," she said.

"So we have to continue in making the case for an urgent support package to mitigate the worst excesses of what people are experiencing right now."

'Waiting with bated breath'

David Caddell, a pensioner from Newtownabbey, ordered 300 litres of oil a couple of months ago for less than £200.

He ordered another 300 litres last Monday and it cost £350.

"We'd done that after watching the news because we'd seen they were saying the price of oil was shooting through the roof. The next morning when we'd looked at the price of oil it was £383. So we saved ourselves £33," Caddell said.

He said: "Just because you're not on a social benefit doesn't mean to say that you don't see the hardship and you don't actually feel it, so yes it would be really good to get something coming through very soon."

Caddell said that Starmer has provided a "stop gap", which he said is "very welcome", but he questioned what happens next.

"People will be waiting with bated breath to find out what's going to happen, when are they going to do something because they can take their time, as we know, on occasions where just because the UK government does it doesn't necessarily mean we follow that quickly."

'Extremely disappointing'

Finance Minister John O'Dowd said the amount of funding that the UK government had made available to the Executive was "extremely disappointing" and "significantly below par".

O'Dowd explained that there are around half a million homes in NI that rely on oil fired central heating therefore the funding works out at around £35 per household.

"On that basis I think it's only right and proper we target those on the lowest incomes," he said.

But O'Dowd said he would continue to engage with the government and would be emphasising to them that there needs to be further funding to help a broader range of people.

"Many, many workers and families are struggling," he said.

He said there was a need for "proper funding to be brought forward."

"We need to be able to support our workers and families in a more appropriate way than has been offered by the prime minister today," he continued.

O'Dowd said he would be writing to Communities Minister Gordon Lyons today to ask for proposals on how the funding should be best used and distributed as soon as possible.

'Not going to be nearly enough'

DUP leader Gavin Robinson said his party was willing to engage with the Department of Economy to determine how best to use the funding.

"Prices have been rising over the last fortnight," he said.

"From the scale of it, even if it's distributed next week or the week after, or it takes a number of months to try and target that intervention, it's not going to be nearly enough to insulate people from the entirety of the cost consequence of what's been going on in the Middle East."

The prime minister added that he was "absolutely determined to clamp down on anybody who might think of ripping others off."

He described reports of "suppliers cancelling orders and jacking up prices" as "completely unacceptable".

He also hinted at plans to enhance regulation in the heating oil market, describing it as "under-regulated."

Speaking to BBC Radio Ulster's Talkback programme, the SDLP's Matthew O'Toole, who is leader of the opposition at Stormont, said the executive needed to "get a grip" and "decide on a plan quickly... even if they wish there were more money in the pot".

He said the Executive "could have and should have been doing its homework weeks ago" in order to "convene a group of officials to plan what a scheme would look like".

"The next part of the story is how do we get that money out, who is eligible, what's the transmission mechanism and we just need to see our ministers on that same page."

Alliance MP Sorcha Eastwood told Talkback she welcomes the announcement from the UK government, but added that she has "queried" the allocation of £17m for Northern Ireland.

"If the government were serious about putting this to where there is a predominance of home heating oil reliance well then Northern Ireland is the lion's share as far as I'm concerned," Eastwood said.

"So I am a bit concerned, I don't want to be churlish, which is why I welcomed it and we're trying to be constructive, but I will continue to query that figure."