Northern Ireland’s housing department says it will get ‘close to’ social housing target after funding boost

Speaking in the Assembly on 9 December, communities minister Gordon Lyons said the extra funding would allow the government to build an additional 750 homes this financial year, taking its total to 1,750.

“With the budget that was available in June, we were going to be able to build only 1,000 homes across Northern Ireland this year, but, working with my [Northern Ireland] Executive colleagues, after today’s announcement, we will be able to build 1,750 homes, which is really close to our target and should be welcomed,” he said.

Later in the debate Diane Forsythe, DUP MLA for South Down, welcomed the allocation of more funds for social housing but pointed out that had it been reallocated earlier, the government would have been able to reach the target.

“Can lessons be learned about how we can reallocate funding earlier, as soon as it becomes available, to meet those targets?” she asked.

In response, Mr O’Dowd pointed to Westminster and chancellor Rachel Reeves’ late autumn Budget, adding this meant Stormont was weeks behind its usual time frame. “We allocated the money to all departments as soon as it was practically possible,” he added.

Pam Cameron, DUP MLA for South Antrim, also said it was “disappointing” that the Executive’s social housing target was not going to be met and asked Mr O’Dowd to confirm whether future Budget bids will be met in full.

The finance minister replied that the “final whistle” has not blown on this financial year, with one fiscal event still to take place in Westminster and the potential of some “reprioritisation” of capital in the Executive’s Budget.

“I will commit to working with all ministers to ensure that funding is spent where it can be delivered. If it can be delivered in social housing, I will have no difficulty in directing it towards social housing,” Mr O’Dowd added.

In addition to funding for new social homes, the December monitoring also allocated £8.6m for the Cladding Safety Scheme and £4m for priority adaptations to Housing Executive properties for tenants living with disabilities. 

Mr Lyons told Inside Housing: “Earlier this month, I was successful in securing almost £30m in additional funding for the Social Housing Development Programme, enabling the delivery of up to 1,750 new home starts in 2025-26. 

“This means that the allocation for the Social Housing Development Programme has increased to over £207m, which in cash terms is the largest ever allocation of budget to the Programme. 

“The Programme for Government and the Executive’s Housing Supply Strategy currently include a target of starting work on at least 5,850 new build social homes by 2027, and approximately 5,500 social homes are currently under construction across Northern Ireland.”