A MOTION in Belfast City Council to establish a fuel poverty hardship fund has passed the committee stage and will go on to full council for ratification.

Green Party Councillor Anthony Flynn proposed that Belfast City Council establish a Fuel Poverty Hardship Fund, to help provide a safety net for those most at need this winter.

Councillor Flynn said "I am glad that committee agreed to my proposal today to set up an emergency scheme, intended to provide much needed support for vulnerable people and families this winter who are due to face immense hardship."

"I intend this fund to provide one-off £100 payments to those people & families most in need across our city."

"However, it should not be up to the council to provide this much needed relief, we should have a functioning executive with ministers ready to implement a region wide relief scheme, with a fuel poverty strategy to back it up and an energy strategy fit to meet our long term goals of energy security, but we are where we are and where the executive parties fail, the Green Party will do what we can to support people this winter"

The motion will go to full council for ratification at the end of October and a further report detailing the administration of the scheme will also be published.

Áine Groogan, Green Party Councillor for Botanic said the scheme would be beneficial in providing some relief to residents in the current cost of living crisis.

“In terms of tackling the cost of living crisis, we really need to see the Executive back up and running, but while it is being boycotted ourselves in Council can hopefully bring this to fruition to offer some help to those in need. We are proposing to make £500,000 available, and will also be writing to the Department of Communities to match the funding for it, so the hope is to have around £1million available in the form of vouchers which can be distributed to people to help them, and we want to be able to get the money out to people quickly.”