Intimidation 'made 300-plus homeless'

More than 300 people have been made homeless as a result of intimidation, the North's Minister for Social Development has said…

More than 300 people have been made homeless as a result of intimidation, the North's Minister for Social Development has said.

Mr Nigel Dodds, whose department oversees the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, was speaking during ministerial question time.

Mr Dodds said that, as of December 2001, 344 individuals were on the Housing Executive's waiting list after they had been intimidated from their homes. By whom these people had been intimidated was not known, he said.

Mr Dodds said that in the past five years the Housing Executive had bought 12 new houses for tenants who had been intimidated from their homes. These had all been a result of the loyalist feud on the Shankill Road in 2000 and had cost almost £700,000, he said.

READ MORE

The Housing Executive also bought houses from their owners if they evacuated them due to intimidation, the Minister said.

He said that sadly this was "demand-led" and that 88 houses were purchased in this way up to December, with an estimated cost for this financial year of £11.5 million.

Sir Reg Empey, the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, also told the house that the cost of 34 trips last year to the US of officials from the Industrial Development Board was over £123,000.