The Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) has been called to announce its plans to replace existing cladding as recommended by the expert panel following the Grenfell tragedy.

The Grenfell Tower fire broke out in North Kensington on 14 June 2017 and caused 71 deaths, including one stillbirth, and over 70 injuries.

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Sinn Féin spokesperson on Housing, Carál Ní Chuilín, said the current cladding on four of the tower blocks in Northern Ireland has been described as fire retardant but the fire safety standard remains unclear.

She said: "Clearly the panel must have had some concerns about the use of fire retardant material otherwise there would have been no reason to recommend the future use of non-combustible material only.

"The report also recommends that sprinklers should be retro fitted and we need confirmation that the Housing Executive will take that recommendation on board and install sprinklers in tower blocks as soon as possible."

(CD/LM)