Poverty costs lives with 24% relatively poor in Derry, says McLaughlin

Transcript

00:00 fuel poverty is literally costing lives, with people in damp cold homes paying

00:04 the price for the failure to address this issue. And it doesn't affect

00:09 everyone equally. In Derry City and Strabane we have the highest levels of

00:13 individuals in relative poverty after housing costs sitting between 23 and 24

00:18 percent. That is double the lowest level in Northern Ireland. That kind of regional

00:23 inequality is unacceptable and it means that whether you will experience fuel

00:28 poverty is very much a postcode lottery. In 2024 it shouldn't be the case that

00:34 anyone in our society is struggling to heat their homes or to keep a roof over

00:37 their heads or getting sick from damp and mold conditions and I don't believe

00:42 that is a controversial statement.