A Welfare Rights Specialist from Community Advice Fermanagh was in attendance at the recent Crushed by Cost of Living event at Stormont to ensure that the voice of the people of Fermanagh is heard.

Samantha Gallagher, who is also assistant manager of Community Advice Fermanagh was in attendance at the event, organised by the advice sector to highlight the urgent nature of this cost of living crisis.

She said it gave those experts, like herself, the opportunity to “highlight issues faced by their clients and it also gave those experts by experience the floor for them to highlight first hand what they are experiencing”.

Fermanagh is not different from anywhere else at the minute and Community Advice Fermanagh is continuing to support the people of the county during the cost of living crisis.

“All MLAs were invited to attend the event and it was well received and attended. The theme of the event centred around encouragement to have the Executive reformed urgently and with four main aims to be looked at upon its reformation,” explained Samantha.

“The Advice Sector are keen to highlight that this was not a political event, it was a public forum, a remit to allow real-life experiences to be heard in the hope that we can proactively deal with this cost of living crisis, which is now a real emergency.”

The event heard from those being affected during the current crisis, including a family from Fermanagh who highlighted the serious issue of trying to pay extortionate electricity prices for the use of life-saving equipment to manage their son’s condition.

The Crushed by Cost of Living Crisis movement is asking for four main areas to be considered which are temporary measures that can be introduced easily and quickly by frameworks already in place and Samantha now wants to see them implemented.

These included the reinstatement of the £20 per week uplift for people on Universal Credit and extending it to those on legacy benefits.

“Universal Credit is not only a benefit for those out of work, but also for those on low income. This is essential for the people of Fermanagh whose wages are notoriously the lowest paid in Northern Ireland. With seasonal contracts and zero-hours contracts, this uplift affords protection to those who need it most,” she said.

The aims also include a £500 one-off payment for those in receipt of Carers Allowance and Disability Benefits, the removal of the two-child limit to Universal Credit and finally freezing all benefit debt for six months.

“This is important as most people start their UC journey in debt as there is a five-week wait for your first payment and usually requires a person to take an advanced loan,” explained Samantha

The Crushed by the Cost of Living event brought together people from across the community and voluntary sector, academia and the wider community to call for the implementation of emergency measures to lessen the impact of the cost of living crisis for those with the lowest incomes on September 21.