Sinn Féin shirking responsibilities on oil bills, says Lyons

<h1>Sinn Féin shirking responsibilities on oil bills, says Lyons</h1>
<p>The communities minister has accused Sinn Féin of shirking its responsibilities over a fund to help families struggling with rising oil bills.</p>
<p>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".</p>
<p>"They seem to be shirking their responsibilities all together and saying this is not an issue for us," he said.</p>
<p>"This is something that we need to work together on. Government is tough, and finding a solution to this will be tough."</p>
<p>Speaking from the Ireland Funds Gala event being held in Washington DC, the minister give his reaction to the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c80j87vx5k8o&gt;">£17m support package</a> announced by the UK government.</p>
<p>"It's a start, but it doesn't go far enough," he said.</p>
<p>"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.</p>
<p>"I have to be clear that will not go very far with what we have, it's a start. We need more," Lyons added.</p>
<p>The minister added he was not sure when the money would make its way into people's pockets.</p>
<p>"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.</p>
<p>"We want to make sure that it actually makes a difference to those who are suffering at the worst."</p>