Concerns amid spiralling cost-of-living crisis

A TYRONE library has played host to an innovative event that aimed to help local households struggling to pay their bills amid the deepening ‘cost of living’ crisis.

The ‘Energy Café’, held in Omagh Library on Thursday afternoon, welcomed a range of organisations eager to provide assistance to people desperate for help when it comes to their utility bills.

These included Fermanagh and Omagh District Council’s home improvement team, the Consumer Council, St Vincent de Paul, Omagh Independent Advice Service and the PSNI.

The café, believed to be the first of its kind in Ireland, came about due to a range of questionnaires dispersed by Fermanagh and Omagh District Council last year which found that a lot of individuals within the area were in grave danger of being at risk of fuel poverty. Therefore, a plan was brought about to bring the relevant organisations all under one roof.

An identical event will be held in Enniskillen later this month.

All the organisations represented reported a steady stream of people coming to them for advice whilst acknowledging that a lot of others might stay away due to the stigma associated with being seen talking about such a delicate private matter in a public forum.

That said, across the board everyone spoken to by the Tyrone Herald agreed it’s a major crisis which isn’t going away.

Ronan Convery, from the Consumer Council, said the three main concerns were ‘food, rent and energy’.

Mr Convery said, “Energy prices are on the up and will only continue to do so, with hikes expected in the autumn and winter months with the amount of income used for fuel going up by 30 or 40 per-cent as a result of those spikes.

“The role of the Consumer Council at the café is to speak with people on energy efficiency, advice and help on switching suppliers and checking to see if they’re eligible for grants. Its important for consumers to know that help is available.”

Fermanagh and Omagh District Council council chair, Barry McElduff, said the café had been a “useful exercise”.

He said, “I have spoken with all the organisations represented here today and it’s wonderful to see so many who are disseminating useful information to those who need it most on such a relevant issue.

“I hear it from my constituents daily who are under pressure and fearful about what they’ll do, not just now but in the autumn and winter months. With everything going up we are facing a perfect storm of sorts and no evidence things will get better soon.”

Mr McElduff added, “I intend to invite Communities Minster Deirdre Hargey to Omagh as soon as possible to discuss the battle that is here and the battle, which is coming, and to listen to the concerns of the Omagh people, with an eye to securing greater funding in the hope of charting a better way for people.”