Michelle O’Neill: UK heating oil support ‘slap in the face’ for Northern Ireland

The UK Government’s heating oil support package is a “slap in the face” and “doesn’t scratch the surface” of what is needed in Northern Ireland, First Minister Michelle O’Neill has said.

Finance Minister John O’Dowd claimed the £17 million funding would only equate to £35 per household using home heating oil in the region, which he described as “extremely disappointing”.

On Monday, Sir Keir Starmer confirmed Northern Ireland will receive a £17 million share of a £53 million package in support of heating oil costs that have risen due to the war in the Middle East.

The Prime Minister made the announcement after Chancellor Rachel Reeves said Treasury officials had “found the money” to help the 1.5 million households relying on the fuel.

Around two-thirds of homes in Northern Ireland use home heating oil compared with the UK average of just more than 5%.

Ms O’Neill said her priority is “challenging the British Government to ensure that we actually have the right investment package, that we actually can help people to get through this cost-of-living crisis”.

During Question Time in the Stormont Assembly, she told MLAs: “These are the real-life implications of war.

“Our constituents here are having to bear the brunt of these decisions that have been taken elsewhere, so we need to fight together for the people that we represent.”

She added: “I encourage us all to work together, to fight for households here, to fight to have proper money so that we can actually help people to get through this crisis, because what’s been thrown out today doesn’t even scratch the surface of what people need.”

Ms O’Neill further stated: “None of us know if, even these recent rises, if that’s where it’s going to stop or if it’s going to get worse, so I think this is why we need support for households, that’s why we make the case to the Treasury.

“And I have to say, I find the £17 million that has 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.”

Speaking to reporters at Stormont shortly after the announcement, Mr O’Dowd said “it’s extremely disappointing in terms of the quantum of funding that has been made available to the Executive”.

“There’s around half a million homes here rely on oil-fired central heating and the Executive has been awarded £17.2 million from the Prime Minister’s announcement,” he said.

“That equates to around £35 per household and on that basis I think it’s only right and proper that we target those on the lowest incomes.”

Mr O’Dowd said that on the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022 “there was a much better financial package brought forward than has been brought forward today, so if the economy is in a better state, then the funding coming forward should match that”.

DUP leader Gavin Robinson Robinson said there was a “discussion” to be had about means-testing the funding.

“If the outcome of a process of engagement and willingness to support those who need our support when it comes to their home heating oil is to offer £20 or £30 at a time whenever costs have doubled – it won’t cut it,” he said.

“And that’s why I’m indicating not only a willingness to work with the Economy Minister, but a requirement for her to sharpen her pencil and get going with discussions about how best this Executive can target the resources effectively.”

He added: “Prices have been rising over the last fortnight.

“I think we can understand from the scale of it that 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.”

Alliance MP Sorcha Eastwood said there needs to be “quick, urgent action to get this support out the door to homes across Northern Ireland”, but also raised questions on the level of funding made available.

“If the Government are serious about reflecting the need of home heating oil in Northern Ireland that should be much more than that, so I will be querying that with Treasury and also it needs to be targeted,” she said.

“There’s absolutely no point in people who are able to pay their bills getting that support, if it is already going to be a small sum that needs to be reflected in the allocation.”

UUP MLA Robbie Butler said the broken-down figure of £35 per household is “quite pitiful, actually”.

He said: “I think as a party, we certainly would have liked to have seen a three-figure sum, something that better reflected the pressures that are on households here in Northern Ireland.”

The UK Government said it also intends to introduce new consumer protections for heating oil customers and is “rapidly exploring new ways to step in and ensure households are better protected”.

Facing a Stormont committee on Monday, Sinn Fein Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald accused the DUP of “peddling mistruth and misinformation” in relation to energy bill support funding.

Last week, Ms Archibald had been criticised by the chairman of the Economy Committee, DUP MLA Phillip Brett, who highlighted that an announcement in the Chancellor’s spring statement made £81 million of funding available to Stormont to reduce energy bills and claimed the department had not yet submitted a business case to the Treasury for funding.

On Monday Ms Archibald denied that departmental officials were not aware of the funding until it was brought to their attention by Mr Brett, saying the funding came from annually managed expenditure (AME) which is “tightly controlled by the British Government and is used to deliver schemes here that align with those in Britain”.

“I believe it’s irresponsible to build people’s hopes up that this funding could be targeted differently,” she said.

Mr Brett questioned the timeline of correspondence between the Treasury and the department and concluded the meeting saying: “We still don’t have a delivery mechanism, so I think we just need to encourage the department to try and get this delivery mechanism delivered as soon as possible.”