Ursula Meighan Workers Party Representative has raised concerns over the decision to cut Grants to Housing Associations that will have a detrimental impact on waiting lists.
Ms Meighan said it beggars belief that the Communities Minister thinks that cutting grants to housing associations by 8% and perhaps more in certain areas including Belfast could lead to more public housing being built. We are in a housing crisis and it is growing day by day, it has been announced that only half the public housing promised in the programme for government will be built, this cut could mean a further reduction to those numbers . Ms Meighan added the minister needs to explain in much greater detail the changes he mentions with regard to design standards in building homes.
The Workers Party has been calling for a State Construction Company to be set up to build public housing to alleviate the current housing crisis. The numbers of those on waiting lists, in temporary accommodation, and homeless, grows longer as each day passes. Every citizen should have the right to good quality affordable public housing. Not having a home impacts negatively on your life chances and opportunities, in employment, education, physical and mental health, and overall wellbeing.
Ms Meighan said a State Construction Company would provide many benefits to the public purse, by providing well paid sustainable employment, apprenticeships for our young people, and an economic boost to our local economies. Now is the time to invest in public housing, cutting grants will make a bad situation even worse. There can be no lowering of standards in the design or quality of public housing in order to save money or for private developers to increase their profit margins.