NEWS that Stormont has cobbled together a package that will allow pensioners in the North to receive £100 towards the cost of winter fuel is welcome – but that welcome comes of course with terms and conditions.
The Executive parties deserve credit for having come up with £17 million in the latest monitoring round to make the distinctly modest payment possible. The ongoing tension between Health Minister Mike Nesbitt and his government colleagues over resources is a vivid illustration of the difficulties facing ministers, who too often get it in the neck over difficult decisions, regardless of the realities on the ground.
The means-tested £100 payment will be made at some as-yet unspecified date before next March and it is therefore tempting to remark that those qualifying pensioners will have to survive the winter before they get their hands on the money. And if that’s not a distressing enough prospect for those viewing the upcoming bitter weather with trepidation, they will be further alarmed to learn that their counterparts across the border will be in receipt of relative riches. Pensioners in the South are currently in receipt of €33 per week in winter fuel payments, a payment that began in the last week of September and will continue right through to the beginning of April. We’ll refrain from adding up the total sum payable for fear of adding to OAPs’ woes.
Commissioner for Older People, Eddie Lynch, while greeting the £100 allowance as a “welcome announcement”, rightly stressed the difficulty thrown up by the frankly inexplicable delay in the money being paid out. He said he’s “concerned” by the delay in the payments. Paschal McKeown of Age NI, meanwhile, also welcomed the payment but added that older people will continue to face financial pressure as the temperature drops.
She said that she’s “deeply disappointed that the amount allocated may fall short of what older people really need to stay warm during the long winter days and nights.”
Communities Minister Gordon Lyons is one of those who deserve thanks for delivering the modest payment in the midst of considerable financial pressure, but he must realise that uncertainty over the date of receipt of monies will only add to the stress felt by qualifying pensioners. That’s particularly disappointing since the payment is designed to relieve the concern of vulnerable members of the community – not add to it.
He said he’s “working closely with officials” to ensure that the money is paid “as soon as possible”, but it’s clear that this problem should have been dealt with before the announcement was made. The Executive wouldn’t be the first collection of politicians to put a politically advantageous announcement ahead of detail, but it’s poor practice.
It’s essential as we witness the first snowfall of winter that the Executive does everything in its power to ensure this modest but nevertheless important payment is made quickly.
