Overview
- The Executive, which met Thursday, added £19.2m to an earlier £17.2m UK grant to fund £100 oil-heating cards for about 300,000 low-income households.
- Communities Minister Gordon Lyons said setting up the scheme will take at least three months, with payments expected in the summer at the earliest.
- Eligible homes must use heating oil and meet set criteria, with one card per household and applications likely through an online form.
- The criteria cover people on income-related or disability benefits, pensioners without Pension Credit under £30,000, and other households with income under £30,000.
- First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly urged the Prime Minister to cut taxes or fuel duty as oil prices have nearly doubled and about two thirds of homes rely on oil.