An emergency fund to help people struggling to pay their energy bills has been closed after the entire budget was used up in its first week.

The government allocated €56.3 million to the temporary fund (Tijdelijke Noodfonds Energie) for people on low incomes who have been hit by the rising cost of gas and electricity.

The fund closed to new applicants on Tuesday morning after receiving 210,000 claims. Users of the employee insurance agency UWV’s website experienced delays as its computer systems struggled to cope with the flood of enquiries.

“The huge influx of applications in less than a week show how much financial pressure many households are under at the moment and how badly support is needed,” a spokesman for the emergency fund said.

“We understand that the closure of the fund is disappointing for households who still wanted to apply. At the same time we hope that households who have made a claim feel relieved and reassured.”