People Before Profit Councillor Shaun Harkin
Said the Foyleside councillor: “Our motion calling on Stormont to launch a multi-year building of at least 1000 social housing units a year in targeted areas in Derry and across the District area was backed by a majority of Councillors.
“There are 50,000 applicants on the waiting list across the North, and almost 6,000 in the Derry City and Strabane Council area.
“The housing crisis will only get worse if there isn’t urgent action by the Stormont Executive to immediately address it.
“Sinn Féin removed all references in the motion to the failure of consecutive Executive’s to build enough affordable housing and to the completely inadequate DfC housing strategy on the books now.
“But there’s no hiding the fact that the Tories and Stormont Executive are responsible for the housing crisis.
“We need to build more affordable homes and thousands of houses lying derelict and empty must be brought back into use.
“Private rental costs are skyrocketing without any regulation because of housing scarcity.
“People aren’t able to get a house because there aren’t enough and increasingly those available aren’t affordable.
“We are raising the alarm on the housing crisis. We won’t allow the vulnerable and refugees to be scapegoated as they have in the South for government failure and profiteering.
“People power is going to be the key to forcing Stormont to invest in building enough social and affordable homes to meet actual demand.”
Cllr Shaun Harkin’s Motion agreed by Council following amendments:
“The scale of the housing crisis across the North and in Derry city and Strabane district cannot be understated. Almost 50,000 applicants languish on the social housing waiting list, including almost 6000 in our own district.
“Tory privatisation of the social housing stock underpins the housing crisis.
“Affordable accommodation in the private sector is becoming hard to find for many families and individuals.
“Furthermore, there are currently 1500 houses sitting empty across the Derry and Strabane council district.
“In the south, decades of government failure to build social and affordable housing has created a deep social crisis where that has resulted in the dangerous scapegoating of migrants and refugees.
“The restoration of the Stormont executive is an opportunity to address the housing crisis before it is exploited by far-right organisations to scapegoat migrants and refugees.
“Council will write to the department for communities minister calling for an urgent response and urgent action to address the housing crisis that includes:
· The immediate multi-year building of at least 1000 social homes a year in targeted areas across the district.
· to secure ringfenced funding from the NI Executive to comprehensively address the housing crisis across city and district
· to implement the Empty Homes Strategy and to take immediate action to reduce the number of empty houses across the district in order to create affordable homes for families and individuals.
· to take action to address the blight of derelict houses across the district seeking to bring these back to a state of fitness for habitation where possible or replacement.
“Council will establish a member led housing crisis task force that will work with DFC, the housing executive, housing associations, and other organisations with knowledge and expertise to drive forward the building of social and affordable homes across the district.”
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