The Green Party in Northern Ireland is calling for a "joined up" approach to social housing.

Leader Steven Agnew made the call following a debate about housing associations leading to a wider review of the sector.

He said: "We can't look at housing associations in isolation. Social housing is a complex issue and this is a perfect opportunity to assess the sector more widely.

"The Housing Executive needs to find upwards of £300m per year over the next five years to maintain its properties at a good standard. The stock of social housing has continued to shrink due to a lack of investment and Right to Buy. This means that people are being pushed into the private rented sector and the government is picking up the bill for this through Housing Benefit. This is not financially sustainable in the long term. We need to find creative ways to invest in the existing housing stock and build new social houses.

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"In order to ensure that this is sustainable in the long-run, we need a joined-up approach to social housing, and to stop pretending that what happens with housing associations doesn’t impact on the Housing Executive or private sector."

(CD/LM)