Debate contribution: Cost-of-living Crisis
Debate contribution by Mr Colm Gildernew on .
- MLA
- Mr Colm Gildernew
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 21 April 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Opposition Business
- Heading
- Cost-of-living Crisis
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5497564
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Before I get into my remarks, it is important that I remind Members why we are here today discussing this issue. We are here because of the actions of Donald Trump and his cronies. They have launched an unprovoked and illegal war in Iran. That illegal war is the sole cause of the energy crisis that is having a devastating impact on workers, families and businesses, including farm businesses, in the North and beyond. As long as the war continues, oil and gas will remain unaffordable, and I fear that they will remain unaffordable long after the war has finished. We can all agree that people here are suffering, and we need to ensure that they receive the support that they need. The price of oil has more than doubled since the start of the war, with thousands of families unable to heat their home or put food on the table. Businesses are also suffering. We have seen the frustration of the many farmers and transport hauliers who have engaged in protests across the island. Simply put, large parts of our economy rely on oil and gas as an energy source, and the price of oil has now plunged the economy into crisis. That is a timely reminder of the risks associated with an over-reliance on a volatile commodity such as oil, the supply and distribution of which we have absolutely no control over. The crisis should serve as a call to action to decarbonise our economy and use renewable energy sources. It is important that we recognise the actions that the Executive have taken to support people during the crisis, which is something that the SDLP motion fails to do. Just last week, the Executive announced a support package worth £36 million, which will be targeted at those who are most in need, including people with disabilities and lower-income working families.
Yes. Go ahead.
I am glad that I allowed the Member an intervention, as it gave him a second opportunity to welcome the support package. It is a help to working families whose primary source of energy is home heating oil. With the announcement of that vital support package — I welcome the fact that the Minister for Communities has recognised that it is his Department that needs to deliver on it — we now need to make the application process as straightforward and seamless as possible so that the money is got out into the pockets of those who need it most. We also need to acknowledge that the response of the British Government to the crisis has been hopelessly inadequate. So far, the British Government have provided the Executive with only £17 million of extra funding. That will not even touch the sides of what will be needed here. They have refused all calls to date to deliver real, substantial financial support, including cutting tax and fuel duty, which would have a massive impact. Instead, the British Government have prioritised building weapons of war over supporting the people who are most in need. Instead of standing up to the warmongers in the White House, they have put their military bases at the disposal of those who are causing the crisis that we are currently facing. We, a chairde
, need to see a radically different approach from the British Government: one that moves away from austerity and from complicity in an illegal war towards supporting vulnerable households. I welcome the fact that the Executive are united in calling for that and that a letter that the First Minister and the deputy First Minister signed has been sent to the British Government. People here do not have the luxury of waiting any longer. They need support, and they need it now.
624 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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