Mid Ulster: meeting sought with NIHE to address concerns over housing of sex offenders

The Independent representative for Dungannon DEA had raised this issue before at Mid Ulster District Council, and he had also called on the statutory body to provide more details on where sex offenders can be offered accommodation.

The NI Housing Executive did respond, in a letter circulated as part of last Thursday’s (May 22) council meeting agenda, however Cllr Monteith thought it fell short of what he had been asking for.

He suggested the housing body’s response, in which ‘Rule 64’ is being explained in general terms, without going into specifics as to where precisely sex offenders are able to reside, simply did not give him the information he needed to reassure his constituents.

The letter from the NI Housing Executive stated: “Applicants convicted or charged with the sexual abuse of children (…) should only be offered accommodation within the stock of any participating landlord which satisfies all of the following criteria.

“It is accommodation which, in the opinion of the designated officer, is predominately let to tenants who do not have children within their households.

“It is physically separate from accommodation which, in the opinion of the designated officer, is let predominantly to people who do have children within their households.

“Where applicable, the applicant would not be in breach of the terms of his/her licence or Probation Order by accepting that accommodation.

“It is not, in the opinion of the landlord’s chief officer or his/her nominee, [deemed] ‘unsuitable’ accommodation.”

Specific Information

The Independent representative felt more specific information was needed from the NI Housing Executive.

He commented: “In its response, the Housing Executive is not really getting into the nitty-gritty of the issue. We’re getting the broad parameters of the decision-making process, but what’s being raised by people out there is, what are the areas which they deem suitable, and what are the areas which are not.

“They’re talking there about accommodation, under Rule 64, which in the opinion of the designated officer is predominately let to tenants who do not have children within their households.

“There are well documented cases of some of these characters in blocks of flats. Because of the housing issue in Dungannon at the minute, there are many families housed in those blocks of flats.

“It also states that they’re supposed to be physically separate from accommodation which is predominately let to people who have children in their households, but it makes no reference to the locality in which the person may be housed, and the fact that there may be schools, places of worship, sporting facilities, youth clubs, even the route to school [used by] young people.

“There are many issues here which this doesn’t address, and I do think this is worth probing a bit more.

“I would ask that we write back to the Housing Executive, and ask them for a local meeting in relation to the areas in Mid Ulster which they think meet this criteria, because that’s the nitty-gritty, that’s what people on the street are asking me.

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“On the second time of asking, [this correspondence] still does not answer the question, so I propose that we ask the Housing Executive for a meeting to drill down into what areas are appropriate and which ones are not appropriate.”

Cllr Deirdre Varsani – who declared an interest as a board member of the NI Housing Executive – was anxious to highlight issues being faced by children within their own households.

The Sinn Féin representative for Dungannon DEA stated: “I spent a long time in education. I know there are concerns out there about where people get housed generally and specifically when there are these kinds of issues, but I think it’s really important for families, the public, etc., not to focus solely on the question of where people like these get housed, but the very fact that children are in the most danger within their own home.

“That is a fact. That is what people need to be aware of. Education systems for children and families need to be supported and extended, and I think if we focus too much on where people get housed, then we lose sight of where the actual problem lies.

“I know there’s a lot of interest on Facebook on issues like this, but I think in reality we have to remember the facts. Children are in the most danger, statistically, within the walls of their own home, whether that is from family members, relatives or friends, or strangers coming into that particular house.

“So I think we have to keep the balance here, and that’s what I would urge people to do.”

François Vincent, Local Democracy Reporter