SDLP Foyle MLA Sinead McLaughlin
Homes across the North are due to receive pre-paid cards of up to £100 to spend in local shops, businesses and the hospitality sector.
Said the Foyle MLA said: “I have been saying for weeks that this scheme could not be safely delivered in this financial year.
“It is a relief that officials now recognise this.
“But given the problems with the Eat Out to Help Out scheme – which is widely regarded as having contributed to the spread of Covid-19 and the creation of a second wave – it could surely have been recognised much earlier that the voucher scheme could not be delivered safely until the virus was brought under control.
“I am very concerned that the economy minister and her officials did not fully think through the conditions of the scheme and its roll-out.
“I remain worried that unless the scheme is designed very carefully that it will not do what it is intended to do.
“This is to help locally owned retail and hospitality businesses to survive and to stimulate the traditional high street shopping environments, while also helping our citizens.
“My fear is that unless the scheme is very carefully designed it will simply provide an additional boost to the profits of the major supermarket chains, which they do not need.”
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