SDLP Housing spokesperson, Mark H Durkan, has said DSD Minister Nelson McCausland must do more to provide social housing.

He was speaking after the Minister's announcement of plans to build 4600 new social homes over the remainder of the budget period.

The Foyle MLA said: ''I do welcome any new provision of social housing. Need and demand for such housing is felt particularly acutely in my own constituency where we have 1000 people on the homeless list not to mention countless others awaiting transfer. However, this announcement does nothing to allay my fear that the housing situation here is at crisis point.

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"Not only does this figure display a distinct lack of ambition but it also displays a lack of appreciation of the seriousness of the situation.

"Furthermore, there is nothing new in the announcement given that these numbers had been stipulated in the Programme for Government anyway so it seems like the Minister is trying to reheat something that wasn't great to begin with and serve it up to a very hungry public in the hope that it will be swallowed without being chewed over.

"The minister is still deliberating over a Housing Strategy as well as a Review of the Housing Executive and it would be good to see those and hear how the minister thinks he can use both to maximise the development of new social housing schemes and the maintenance of existing ones.

"I will be fighting to ensure that Derry gets its fair share of these new houses so we can see development of the old Glen Flats' site as well as increasing provision across the city but at the same time will keep pressing the Executive that much more needs to be done on social housing."

(CD/GK)