NI Finance Minister says £17m UK heating‑oil support ‘extremely disappointing’

Stormont’s Finance Minister has described the UK Government’s heating‑oil support package as “extremely disappointing.”

John O’Dowd claimed the £17 million funding would only equate to £35 per household using home heating oil in the region and should be targeted at “those on the lowest incomes.”

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

The Prime Minister made the announcement on Monday 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%.

Speaking to reporters at Stormont shortly after the confirmation, 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”.

He added: “The funding package, it is below par, significantly below par, there’s a need for proper funding to be brought forward.

“It’s left us in a position where we can only now help those on the lowest incomes.

“Many, many workers and families out there are struggling, we need a proper package to support everyone moving forward.”

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 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.”

Prior to detail of the allocation, the UUP said the support “is a welcome recognition of the crisis, it is a drop in the ocean compared with the vast fuel duty and VAT the Government collects daily”.

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”.

The Economy Minister further stated that “any deviation from the scheme in Britain would need to be agreed with the British Government”.

“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.”