A business minister said he cannot see the Energy Bill Support Scheme payments being issued to Northern Ireland before Christmas but is hoping to "stand that up" in January.
She said: "Whilst across GB, households have received their Energy Bills Support payment, my constituents and people right across Northern Ireland have not. She said "what we get from the Government is delay, doubt, different stories as to the type of scheme as each day passes", adding: "It is not good enough. We need a firm commitment from the Government that this payment will be issued before Christmas.""Their systems do not allow the dispensing, the cashing out and - I hope she agrees with me - I don't want to see a stranded credit to an electricity account that people can't access.
He added: "But we are aiming to stand that up in January if we possibly can. That is my aspiration and my aim and is what I'm seeking to achieve."She said: "The Northern Ireland Utility Regulator said in August that he believed there was a simple mechanism to get the money out and he had been left frustrated that the Government hadn't taken this forward.
He said: "They told me they didn't have the systems to do cashing out. I told them that was not acceptable. And that is why I'm on a daily basis holding them to account and making sure that we push, so that we can get this out as early in the new year as possible - because Northern Irish families deserve better than what they have right now."
Absolutely disgusting
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