Member's statement: 'Dying in Poverty in Northern Ireland 2025'

Member's statement by Mr Danny Donnelly on 8 December 2025.

MLA

Mr Danny Donnelly

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

8 December 2025

Type

Member's statement

Business

Members' Statements

Heading

'Dying in Poverty in Northern Ireland 2025'

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5284157

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I draw attention today to the findings of Marie Curie's report entitled 'Dying in Poverty in Northern Ireland 2025'. I recently attended and took part in a discussion on the report launch with the Marie Curie team. It was an incredibly powerful event that highlighted the desperate and inhumane situations that those in their final days face at a time when they need the most support. No one deserves to die in poverty. The report sets out a stark and deeply troubling reality for people in Northern Ireland and discusses the rise in poverty, specifically fuel poverty, for those at the end of life. Dying in poverty is not inevitable, but, for too many people, it has become their expected reality. The testimonies in the report make for harrowing reading. Extremely sick people have been forced to choose between heat and food, using credit cards to keep the lights on while undergoing chemotherapy. Individuals too unwell to work have been forced to because they lack the income that they need to survive. Those stories highlight a deeply inhumane crisis affecting people when they are at their most vulnerable. The report states that being in the last year of life is a significant risk factor for falling into poverty, and the rates are getting worse: 20% of people in their last year of life are estimated to be in poverty, rising to 27% if we look at fuel poverty specifically. Council areas in Northern Ireland such as Derry City and Strabane; Belfast; Newry, Mourne and Down; and Causeway Coast and Glens are in the top 20 in the UK for the highest fuel poverty rates during the last year of life. We need to recognise that rising levels of poverty at the end of life do not occur in isolation; they mirror structural inequalities that have gone unaddressed for too long, including gaps in income support, limited access to specialist palliative care services and the absence of coordinated planning across Departments. People receive support only when they reach crisis point or, in some cases, not at all. A more coherent approach, grounded in early intervention, predictable financial assistance and reliable data-sharing, would reduce hardship and strengthen public confidence that government is willing to meet its responsibilities to those who are least able to navigate complex systems at a time of profound vulnerability. Marie Curie has set out recommendations, such as better identification and information-sharing to ensure that people with a terminal illness are reached quickly with support; a minimum income guarantee that includes early access to the state pension for those of working age and reforms to income support; and measures to address energy costs and to support the most vulnerable in our society in their final days. The report makes it clear that it is an issue for all levels of government, including the Assembly. People in the last year of life deserve security and dignity, not financial crisis. The evidence that Marie Curie has presented demands a serious and coordinated response, and I urge the Executive and all parties to give the recommendations the consideration that they deserve.

519 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:08 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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