Single Belfast mother of three struggling to heat and eat as cost-of-living crisis bites
WATCH: Seana Finlay speaks to UTV:
A single mother of three has spoken out about how she struggles to feed her family and heat her home with the soaring cost of living.
"I'm struggling financially to meet my everyday commitments because it's costing me the guts of nearly £50 or £60 on gas and electric," said Seana Finlay who lives in Poleglass in west Belfast.
"There's times I'm having to heat and not eat, and then eat and not heat. It's not only myself but other families like myself,"
"The impact it's had on my mental health as well. I've seen a big deterioration because of this. I'm living hand to mouth basically day by day.
Whilst UTV spoke to Seana at her home, the electric meter went off to warn it was low on credit.
"That's the noise of the electric running out. That's been topped up everyday this week - a minimum of £10 each morning," she explained.
"We're both currently in pyjamas because I have no form of drying so I have to put the gas on to heat the house and dry baby's clothes but it's not all the time I can do that because it's costing me so much.
Seana said it was "ridiculous" there was not a fully-functioning Stormont Executive in place to release much-needed finding.
"The whole point of a vote is so that we have a Parliament, that people aren't put into financial ruin and difficulty.
"This is really impacting everyday people in everyday life.
"The government have nothing for us people. They need to be dealing with the crises at hand like this one - the cost of everyday living and the energy costs.
"It makes me feel angry. I'm frustrated. These people are elected by us, for us. They're not doing their job that they should be doing. I think a number of families feel that way," she added.
"I believe they should cap them for families such as myself.
WATCH: Full report by Sara O'Kane:
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