Ring-fenced funding for social housing abandoned

Money for social housing in the city had been ring-fenced to tackle the acute housing need in the city and other areas where homelessness and waiting lists were excessive.

But Housing Minister Margaret Ritchie - quizzed on the rationale for the removal of rung-fencing of funding for social housing in Londonderry and Belfast - said the policy did not take account of housing need elsewhere.

She explained: "Ring Fencing was just one of the mechanisms used in the past for distributing the Social Housing Development Programme.

"It helped direct new social housing into areas of particularly acute housing need which is why Derry along with North and West Belfast had this provision made.

"Increasingly however, this form of ring fencing did not recognise the huge growth in housing need which was growing disproportionately throughout Northern Ireland.

"Ring fencing failed to reflect the length of time applicants waited for social housing and so the Housing Executive, having analysed the data, came to the conclusion that it was time to change this policy."