BREAKING: Heating Payment Fund closure
Heating Payment Fund 'over subscribed'
Derry City and Strabane District councillors have been informed that the Council's Heating Payment Fund (Hardship Fund) will close at 4.00pm today (Tuesday), after less than eight hours of operation, due to it being over subscribed.
The online application page for the Fund crashed mid-morning due to the volume of demand.
Speaking to Derry Now, Cllr Emmet Doyle (Aontú) said he knew the demand for the Heating Payment Fund would be overwhelming but had not thought it would go so quickly.
Cllr Doyle added: "It shows the level of hardship out there in the community.
"The fact that £600 of support is being held up, coupled with the short life of this fund, demonstrates that households need dedicated help right now, as we look into a difficult winter.
"MLAs need to get back to work to get this money into households at a time where even the weekly shop is pushing the financial boundaries of many," said Cllr Doyle