'I don't know how we're going to get through this year' says Co Derry mum

A County Derry woman has spoken out about the hardship facing local families as rocketing energy costs, food prices and caps to benefits begin to bite.

Caroline, who asked us to withhold her surname, lives in a village in the north of the county, is married with three children and is on universal credit.

She told the County Derry Post that the rise in energy and food prices has exacerbated a situation already made difficult by Conservative government changes to the benefits system.

“We have three children who are seven, five and two, and for the last one, we don't get universal credit; they're excluded because of the two-child limit,” she said.

“It has a massive impact. We've three children who all need the same amount of things. They have equal amounts of food, and he [two-year-old] is still in nappies.

“The Tory government were the ones who introduced the two-child limit. They don't realise what it's like; they have not got a clue. They don't know what real life is like.

“They don't know what struggling is like. They can say they're doing this and that, and getting food banks – food banks should not be needed. It's unbelievable.”

As well as the rocketing cost of fuel to heat their home and power their car, the price of feeding the family has also risen sharply.

“Prices too are going through the roof, even the price of food. In the last few months, milk has gone up 20p for the two litres that you buy,” said Caroline.

“These rises have been building gradually, but the last three or four months have been really, really quick. Our electricity used to be about £2 a day, and now it's over £3 a day.

“Everything was going up steadily, very slowly, but all of a sudden it has just jumped. Groceries have gone through the roof; even pasta has gone up.

“All the basics. - things like chicken, milk, pasta and rice have all gone up. All the stuff that you need.”

Emergency Council meeting later this week on cost of living

The family were able to benefit from some local government relief measures. They availed of the £100 electricity voucher and will be eligible for the upcoming £200 fuel package.

However, with the price of fuel rising at such an extreme rate, by the time this support reaches them, its impact may be limited.

“That money is about the difference from what oil was and what it is now. It doesn't really touch it at all,” said Caroline.

“We're trying not to put our heating on other than maybe an hour in the morning and an hour at night; it's not on during the day at all because we can't afford for it to run out.

“It's very hard. My husband's daddy is 92, so he's driving back and forward to him all the time and the price of diesel is through the roof. Our car is 15 years old too, we can't afford to change our car.

“It's terrible, because we have three children. It's a real pressure for both of us, because we have no family living around us that we could rely on, it's really difficult.

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“I don't know how we're going to get through this year. It's going to be so difficult, because they are on about the prices going up again.”

Caroline says that local government could ease the effect on families by putting in place measures to mitigate against the effect of the two-child limit on benefits.

“Scrapping the two-child limit would be a big thing for us,” she said.

“I know Deirdre Hargey has talked about getting it looked into, but it seems to just be getting kicked down the road all the time.

“If they could put that in, that would be a massive help for us. We are not the only ones, there are plenty who have lost out; families who are working as well.

“You're just left, because there is no help. It doesn't look like it's going to get any better this year anyway.”

Despite the family' best efforts to avoid the children worrying about the situation, their innocence only leads them to try and help however they can.

“We don't really talk about money in front of them, but they obviously know something is going on,” said Caroline.

“The odd time some of the children would say 'can I give you the money I have saved? I have three pounds now, can I give you that?'

“ It's really heartbreaking,” she added.

Rising oil prices exacerbate cost-of-living crisis in County Derry

Many local oil companies continue to suspend online deliveries.