Over 3,000 people have been forced to wait after a technical problem at the Department of Social Protection withheld their fuel allowance payment this week.
The payment which for the first time this year was offered as two lump sum payments was withheld from the welfare recipients after the department confirmed they had suffered a technical issue with its IT system.
In a statement released on Wednesday the Department said: “We sincerely apologise to the customers affected and want to assure them that the issue is being resolved.”
“The delay is caused by a technical issue and upgrading work is currently underway to address this.”
It is expected those affected will receive their payments next week.