Following a delay in issuing pension payments to 31,000 people by the Department of Finance, SDLP MLA Matthew O’Toole has called for assurances from the Finance Minister that the issue will be addressed.

SDLP Public Finance Spokesperson Matthew O’Toole MLA said:

“An IT failure at this scale is a serious concern, not least of all because it means 31,000 people will not receive their pension payments this week as expected. In the current climate, that will be more than a mere inconvenience for many.

“The Finance Minister will need to explain how this happened and what measures he will urgently put in place to ensure that it doesn’t happen again. Many older people rely on their pension as their only source of income. We need to be assured that they will be looked after.”