Minister clashes with committee chair over energy bill support

Stormont's economy minister has clashed with the chair of an assembly committee as she defended her department's handling of UK government funding being allocated to reduce energy bills.

There were tense exchanges as Caoimhe Archibald rejected criticism from Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) assembly member Phillip Brett over plans for £81m earmarked to tackle household electricity costs.

The Sinn Féin minister accused Brett and his party of making "numerous false statements", but he claimed Archibald had a "record of dither and delay".

It came as the minister was called before a special meeting of the economy committee on Monday following confusion last week over the support package.

The funding flows from an announcement made at the UK budget in November.

All households in Northern Ireland are expected to receive a £30 reduction in their electricity bills per year for a period of three years.

Archibald said it requires legislation to be passed at Westminster, which she expects to happen by the summer.

The DUP had criticised the minister and the Department for the Economy (DfE) after its top official was unable to provide details of the scheme during a committee meeting last week.

Speaking at the economy committee on Monday, Archibald hit out at the DUP's response.

"Either you do not understand the situation or you are deliberately seeking to mislead the public," she said in an opening statement to the committee.

She added: "The reality is my department has worked diligently to secure the average £30 reduction to electricity bills.

"This scheme would not even have applied here if it weren't for the efforts of my own department and the Department of Finance.

"It will be delivered to households as fast as possible, which is only possible when the British government lays the necessary legislation."

The minister claimed the DUP was "desperately seeking to distract from their original cheerleading stance" on the war in Iran.

Brett, who is the committee chair, told the minister that "timeframes in this department just seem to slip and slip".

"If you're going to lecture me, minister and my party in relation to timeframes, you might want to stick to some of your timeframes," he said.

He added: "I would encourage you, with your continued delays, rather than engaging in personal attacks upon me, your record of dither and delay speaks for itself."

Archibald responded that she "would reject the chair's assertions".

Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) assembly member Sinéad McLaughlin described the exchanges as "exhausting" and "unseemly".

Alliance Party assembly member David Honeyford said he was "not interested in the party political DUP-Sinn Féin fight here."

In response the minister said: "This isn't party political."