Durkan: Minister’s promise to deliver 100,000 homes unfounded

SDLP Communities Spokesperson Mark H Durkan has criticised Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey for the lack of detail surrounding the promise of 100,000 properties within 15 years as laid out in the Department for Communities’ Social Housing Supply Strategy.

Despite several requests for clarity from Mr Durkan, he states the Minister’s response to date have been less than satisfactory.

Said the Foyle MLA: “Minister Hargey promised to deliver over 100,000 homes as part of the Housing Supply Strategy.

“This strategy is of course welcome news but having written to the Minister to ask for a breakdown of the housing options included in the 100,000 properties commitment, she was unable to provide the detail.

“I took the opportunity during Communities Question Time this week to raise this matter again.

“The Minister’s response was less than convincing, stating ‘it was important to put a figure in’ while admitting that no prior analysis has been carried out.

“Ministers can’t be in the habit of making promises they can’t deliver on. This figure is a bit of a stretch to say the least.

“Plucking numbers from thin air for the sake of grabbing headlines or for the Minister’s party to claim their colleague is ‘tackling the housing crisis up North’ isn’t just reckless but it’s immoral to raise the hopes of thousands of families here desperately waiting for a home.”

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