Member's statement: Social Housing: Homelessness
Member's statement by Mr Colm Gildernew on .
- MLA
- Mr Colm Gildernew
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 1 June 2026
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Social Housing: Homelessness
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5580792
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Last week, the Department for Communities released new statistics showing that, for the first time, there are over 50,000 households on the social housing waiting list. The statistics also show that there are now over 39,000 households in housing stress and that over 33,000 have homelessness status, which is a rise of 5% since March last year.
We are in a housing and homelessness crisis. We need to see solutions from the Minister. We urgently need to see the revitalisation of the Housing Executive carried through. That would allow the Housing Executive to borrow against its assets and invest in building more homes. For decades, the British Government have underfunded the North, meaning that we have seen no serious investment in our social housing stock in recent years. The British Government must abandon their austerity agenda and support the Executive to build the homes that are needed. The Programme for Government set a target of 5,850 new homes by the end of the mandate. I have serious concerns that that target will now be missed. Last year saw the commencement of 1,750 new social homes. While that is indeed welcome, it falls short of the target of 2,000 a year by some distance. We all appreciate that funding is scarce for all Departments and that Ministers are required to cut their cloth accordingly. However, some of the priorities that Minister Lyons chooses to fund are hard to understand, given the seriousness of the housing crisis. I also have serious concerns about the 600 homes that were promised well over a year ago that were to be purchased to address the unsustainable rise in temporary accommodation costs. Whilst I fully support the intent behind the initiative, it is clear that the project has stalled, and it is unclear whether any of those houses will ever be bought. As a member of the Public Accounts Committee, I was glad to take part in a recent inquiry into homelessness. One of the key issues identified is that our legislation to tackle homelessness is wholly unfit for purpose. The North still does not have a statutory duty to prevent homelessness, despite rising homelessness levels. The evidence from across the water shows that the best way to tackle homelessness is through prevention, and only a statutory duty can bring a shift towards more preventative activities. Despite having been in office for over two and a half years, the Minister has brought in virtually no legislation on housing or homelessness. The only upcoming Bill that he has announced concerns tackling antisocial behaviour and is in no way relevant to the housing crisis. The Minister for Communities must urgently get to grips with the housing and homelessness crisis and support the people who need support now.
459 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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