Northern Ireland’s £100 home heating oil voucher scheme is already under heavy demand. Department for Communities officials told a Stormont committee that 51,000 applications were successfully made between 8am on Wednesday 9 September and 9am on Thursday — the first stretch after the scheme opened.
The digital prepaid card is meant for households that heat with oil. Full how-to remains in our original voucher guide; this is the day-one demand update, with a reminder that coal is not what the money is for.
What DfC told Stormont
Communities officials said more than 1,300 helpline calls came in between 6am and 4pm on opening day alone. Applications stay open until 31 March 2027. The scheme is worth £36.4 million and is aimed at around 340,000 eligible households — those using oil as their main heat source who are on a qualifying income-related or disability benefit, or whose income is under £30,000 after allowable deductions.
Oil only — not coal
The same committee hearing heard concerns that some vouchers are being used to buy coal.
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