DC&SDC: SF oppose HE motion

The proposal from PBP Councillor Shaun Harkin and seconded by Independent Councillor Paul Gallagher also called for the Council to write to the Minister for Communities and the entire Executive making clear the opposition to any plans to restructure the Housing Executive away from a public body to a privatised mutual/co-operative model. 

Colr. Harkin said: “This is a very important issue for all of us. It’s important we oppose the privatisation of the Housing Executive.

“It’s one of the most important reforms to come out of the Civil Rights Movement. Obviously it has been neglected for many decades now through a lack of funding which is a concern.”

DUP Alderman Maurice Devenney, one of many Councillors to support the motion said: “The DUP has no problem in supporting this notice of motion coming forward here and I hope Councillor Harkin looks favourably on us that the DUP has ticked one of his boxes here.”

Sinn Féin opposed the motion with Councillor Patricia Logue saying: “Let me be very clear about Sinn Féin’s position, we agree with the first line of the proposed motion.

“We are opposed to the privatisation of social housing. However, the motion goes on to suggest that this is what is being proposed. That is most definitely not the case and because of that we will not be supporting this motion.

“The Minister in her statement made it very clear that she’s directing her department to look at options that enable borrowing and retaining the benefits of public ownership, co-ownership or mutual models that feature tenant ownership. Is this privatisation? No.

“People Before Profit have brought forward this motion without any solutions. It is for them to explain why their proposal would result in the choice to either lose 40,000 homes and thousands of public sector jobs in the Housing Executive or the next 11 years of new social homes development.

“They should be clear that either option would propel the housing stress faster and higher. Neither option is acceptable. Only in the Alice in Wonderland world of the People Before Profit can retaining the benefits of public and tenant ownership mean privatisation.

“Their attempts to play politics with this would be comical if it wasn’t so serious. Again in this Council we see People Before Profit seeking to score political points, spouting empty rhetoric and attacking those who are delivering for the people.”

People Before Profit Councillor Eamonn McCann responded to the criticism saying: “To try and reject Colr. Harkin’s proposal on this phoney basis would be to show cynicism and lack of commitment to basis on which the Housing Executive was established all those years ago.”

Independent Councillor Paul Gallagher was amongst those happy to support the motion, however, he aimed a firing shot at Sinn Féin: “The opposition to this motion that we hear in the Chamber around protecting jobs – this is coming from a party that had no problems in cutting 20,000 public sector jobs under the Fresh Start agreement and never batted an eyelid. Let that sink in.”

The motion was passed with 23 votes for, 9 against.

Gillian Anderson

Local Democracy Reporter