Sinn Féin shirking responsibilities on oil bills, says Lyons

The communities minister has accused Sinn Féin of shirking its responsibilities over a fund to help families struggling with rising oil bills.

Responding to Sinn Féin's call that he draw up a plan to get the money to those families who need it, Gordon Lyons said their "position is absolutely bizarre".

"They seem to be shirking their responsibilities all together and saying this is not an issue for us," he said.

"This is something that we need to work together on. Government is tough, and finding a solution to this will be tough."

Speaking from the Ireland Funds Gala event being held in Washington DC, the minister give his reaction to the ">£17m support package announced by the UK government.

"It's a start, but it doesn't go far enough," he said.

"Now I've said that I've instructed officials to work with colleagues in other departments to see what it is that we can come up with to actually deliver on this.

"I have to be clear that will not go very far with what we have, it's a start. We need more," Lyons added.

The minister added he was not sure when the money would make its way into people's pockets.

"I know the people will want to have certainty on that, but I commit to working as quickly as I can with others to try and get that certainty," he said.

"We want to make sure that it actually makes a difference to those who are suffering at the worst."