People Before Profit Councillor Shaun Harkin
Said Cllr Harkin: “It’s clear the Council Hardship Fund is urgently needed but it’s inadequate in the face of continued criminal negligence by government and corporate profiteering.
“The failure of the British government to administer energy support payments to households here underscores the need for the immediate roll-out of the Council’s emergency fuel hardship programme.
“People Before Profit proposed and fought for the hardship fund over the opposition of the main parties on Council because of the criminal abdication of responsibility by Westminster and Stormont to provide urgent cost of living support.
“If there was proper action by central government, the Council hardship fund wouldn’t be necessary.
“Now that it has been formally agreed we welcome the help it will provide for families and individuals in Derry and across the District in emergency situations.
“We are frustrated it has taken longer than we wanted to begin the roll-out of the programme. We are frustrated the financial fund isn’t larger to help more households.
“And we share the deep frustration that gas customers aren’t included.
“It’s our opinion Firmus Energy could and should have found a means to make sure gas customers would be included.
“Firmus bosses say they don’t have the capacity to do the scheme in the way required by the Council.
“However, they’ve made huge profits from exorbitant gas bills paid by people across the District.
“They could have easily have found the means to assign staff for the duration of what will be a short programme.
“It’s crucial that we ratchet-up pressure on Westminster, on the NIO, on the NI Secretary of State and on Stormont Department chiefs for the urgent delivery of energy support payments and for more hardship support.
“In the face of Tory indifference to communities here and Stormont inaction, it’s clear people power pressure is needed to supersede the complacent ‘leave it to us’ approach of the mainstream parties.”
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