Only 9.2% of Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) properties have adequate insulation, according to the Ulster Unionist Party.

Ballymena UUP Councillor Stephen Nicholl also said the latest Home Energy Conservation Authority Progress Report also failed to mention 90.8% of properties need some form of remedial action.

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Mr Nicholl is calling on the NIHE to address the concerns as soon as possible.

He said: "Worryingly the NIHE has been aware of this issue since the Housing Condition Survey of 2011. Fuel poverty remains stubbornly high at 42% and the resulting cold and damp has a significant impact on individual health in terms of resistance to infection, respiratory illnesses and general well-being. "This impacts further on the demands on the health service and adds to the traditional winter pressures."

(CD)