The Department of Social Development is set to benefit from an extra £50m redistributed from unspent money from government departments.

Finance Minister Peter Robinson said 525 applications for home ownership in the province through the co-ownership scheme could be assisted.

An extra 900 new social houses could also be built this year allowing Margaret Ritchie's department to meet it's target of building 1,500 new social homes in 2008.

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Other departments set to benefit from money acquired from the December Monitoring Round which Robinson said was designed "in simple terms, to help the Executive make the most of the resources at it's disposal" include the Department of Education, the Department of Health and the Department of Regional Development.

A total of £28m will be allocated to addressing ongoing costs of water infrastructure and roads maintenance.

Around £17m will help pay the health services Review of Public Administration and £15m will go be spent on the Department of Education, most of which has been earmarked to meet costs arising from the classroom assistants dispute.

(GK)