‘Families in crisis as politicians getting paid to huff in the corner’

POVERTY stricken local people – who have been further crippled with rising costs of living – are even struggling to access benefits as they cannot afford to put money on their pre-pay mobile phones.

This was just one of a litany of heartbreaking realities highlighted by veteran Civil Rights campaigner Bernadette McAliskey who heads up the support and advocacy service run by STEP in Dungannon and across Mid Ulster.

She was speaking less than a week, after householders were dealt another hammer-blow, when Power NI announced a huge 27.5 per-cent rise for domestic customers which will take effect from July 1. Last week also saw average inflation hit nine per-cent across the UK, though the real figure may be higher for some households.

Mrs McAliskey expressed both fear and anger over the crisis, which she said was claiming more victims on a daily basis.

“People are just at rock bottom. They are desperate and we are seeing more and more people who have never struggled before and they’re in real trouble,” she said.

“Some are just switching off the electricity as they don’t have the money. I know there are some people coming here to STEP to use our phones as they do not even have enough money to put into their own mobile phones to make calls about their Universal Credit.”

She said poverty was also taking a heavy toll on people’s mental health. “The worry and stress is there all the time for these people, and you know what that does for mental health and even for those people who are trying to help them, it is very difficult.

“As an advisory service, we pride ourselves in offering help and advice and a way forward for people, but at the minute we don’t have the answers, it’s that simple.”

While not singling out the DUP, Mrs McAliskey slammed the Stormont deadlock as a “scandal”.

“This has been building for some time even before Covid. After Covid we could see some costs were rising, but nothing like we have seen this last few months,” she continued.

“We have been sitting here watching the flood waters rise on a daily basis. As the costs keep going up, the numbers of people in poverty keep going up and some are now left totally destitute. It is just swallowing up people and there’s nothing being done about it.

“At the minute we are trying to refer people to different charitable trusts for support, but there’s just not enough to go around. We are supposed to have a welfare state, but when the costs are higher than the money coming in, then it’s not working.”

She added, “I don’t think I have been this angry since 1968 when I found out how the world worked. We now have a situation where people up at Stormont, politicians who backed themselves into a corner, are still getting paid while they do nothing but sit in a corner and huff, while ordinary people cannot heat their homes or feed their children properly. I don’t think this would be allowed to happen in any other country. It’s a complete scandal.”

Last week’s, electricity price rise comes after a price hike by Power NI of over 20 per-cent in January.

Defending the latest move, the largest electricity provider in the North, Power NI said they had tried to keep prices as low as possible.

“Regrettably, geopolitical factors outside our control, have resulted in prolonged high costs in the international wholesale energy markets,” said William Steele, who is the customer solutions director for Power NI.

“Like other suppliers we have no choice but to pay these increased costs, which feed into the price of wholesale electricity and have a knock-on effect on tariffs.”

Mid Ulster MP Francie Molloy has said the price hike is a “blow for workers and families” and called on the DUP to get back to work and form an Executive to deal with the cost-of-living crisis.

“The announcement of another 27.5% hike in Power NI prices is yet another huge blow for people and will only add to the pressure they are facing,” said Mr Molloy.

“Workers and families are struggling. They need our help now, and we need an Executive up and running now to put £420 million in their pockets and deal with the cost-of-living crisis.

“The DUP need to stop blocking the formation of an Executive, so we can give people that help right away.

“The do-nothing approach of the British government must stop and they should increase taxes on big energy companies who are making a fortune from ordinary people now.”

Last week, concerns were also raised that families could miss out on free school meal entitlement over the summer months after the Department of Education confirmed no funding was in place to allow the scheme to continue as promised.