MCCAUSLAND BLASTED OVER SNUB TO DERRY’S 3,000 HOMELESS

The North’s Housing Minister has been blasted over an “absolutely shocking” snub Derry’s homeless.

Derry SDLP MLA Colum Eastwood said Minister Nelson McCausland was losing the confidence of the people after failing to spend £17 million in funding this year, despite there being 3,000 people in need of housing in Derry alone.

Mr Eastwood said it was “absolutely shocking” the Department for Social Development was giving money back to the Exchequer at Stormont while Derry’s housing crisis continued to deepen.

The SDLP representative was hitting out after it emerged ten million pound allocated for new social housing builds and £7 million earmarked for maintenance, was to be handed back to the Department of Finance, because of what Mr Mc Causland said was a difficulty in securing appropriate land banks.