Newry Mourne and Down District Councillors briefed on Housing Executive plans
Housing Executive investment in Newry, Mourne and Down Council area during 2025/26 amounted to £53.37m.
Catherine McFarland, Housing Executive Interim Chief Executive, provided an update on pressures in the housing sector while setting out the organisation’s progress over the last 12 months and outlining future plans to local Councillors at the annual Housing Investment Plan update on, Monday 24th August 2026.
At the meeting, Catherine McFarland said: “Challenges within the housing sector remain significant, especially with regards to improving existing homes, meeting the demand for new homes and for temporary accommodation.
“Our focus is on targeted investment in housing supply, improving the quality our own homes and providing support to those who need it most – this is essential in improving outcomes for individuals, families and communities.
“Over recent years, we have been pleased to be able to deliver programmes of improvements to our own homes, including energy efficiency measures.
“During 2025/6 we invested £6.55m in Housing Executive properties and further proposed spend of £6.71m is planned for our homes across the district in 2026/27.
“Whist this is good news to many of our tenants, Councillors have been made aware of the requirement for access to longer term funding streams to be able to continue investing in our homes to a decent standard.
“In relation to new-build, investment in homes in the district saw 435 housing association units on-site at March 2026.
“Any addition to housing stock is a benefit and we continue to make for case for funding to meet the need and work with Newry, Mourne and Down Council and the housing sector to identify opportunities for more development in the years ahead.
“The vital assistance for some of the most vulnerable households in our communities continued throughout the year, with £6.64m invested through the Supporting People programme, enabling 61 services to provide housing support to 1,296 people last year.
“Across the district, 720 people who presented as homeless were accepted for support last year – a ringfenced budget for 2025/26 and 2026/27 will help to focus on homelessness prevention and providing the right help at the right time for people who need it.
“We know this is more important than ever when we continue to face deep rooted challenges in the housing sector.
“In addition to investing in homes and communities in 2025/26, we are also pleased to have been able to support the economic future of Newry Mourne and Down District Council area with a steady, positive impact on employment and local supply chains, demonstrating the vital economic lever that housing provides, both Northern Ireland wide and throughout our local communities.
“Whilst we recognise the challenging environment we are operating in, we are also confident that there are many opportunities to build on the great work carried out through partnerships with our local councils.
“I am looking forward to continuing this work as we deliver against our shared goal of providing better places to live for the people and communities we serve.”
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About Housing Investment Plans
The Housing Executive has a statutory duty to report on the previous year’s performance and the following year’s programmes and plans.
Community Planning
The Housing Executive’s role in community planning is to represent the housing sector. Consequently, the Housing Investment Plan has been broadened to include a more holistic view of the housing sector.
In Newry, Mourne and Down:
- The housing waiting list included 3,232 applicants in housing stress at 31 March 2026. Single and small family households comprise 73% of the housing stress waiting list in the council area.
- 1,151 people presented as homeless during 2025/26, 720 of whom were awarded homeless full duty status.
- 397 homes were allocated to waiting list applicants.
- Last year, the Housing Executive carried out the installation of new heating in 68 homes, 484 double glazing installations, bathroom and kitchen rewiring in 124 homes, 20 properties received replacement kitchens, and 133 doors have been completed across the district. Improvements were also made to bathrooms of 35 properties and 4 properties received low carbon scheme work.
- 435 new build units are onsite, with 339 planned to start in the next three years.
- The Housing Executive funded 61 Supporting People services including 49 supported housing accommodation-based schemes.
- 6 NIHE properties sold to sitting tenants during 2025/26.
Northern Ireland Context
Housing Executive policies and plans are developed in the context of the Housing Supply Strategy 2024-39, the Programme for Government 2024-2027 ‘Our Plan: Doing What Matters Most’, with other regional plans including the Regional Development Strategy, Sustainable Development Strategy, Strategic Planning Policy Statement, and an emerging suite of new Local Development Plans.
- In 2025/26, the Housing Executive facilitated the completion of 1,538 new homes and started a further 1,765 through the Social Housing Development Programme.
- For 2025/26 expenditure for private sector grants was £14.32m and the budget for 2026/27 is £17.01m.
- NIHE made £17.40m available for energy efficiency measures in 2025/26 and have an approximate budget for 2026-29 of £133.60m.
- The Supporting People Programme budget for 2025/26 of £84.44m funded over 19,000 housing support places to vulnerable people across Northern Ireland.
