Aontú representative Róisín Mulgrew has called for urgent action to address the shortage of social housing in Newry, Mourne and Down, after newly released figures showed that no social housing completions were recorded in the Council area during the first six months of 2026.
Figures released by the Department of Finance show that Newry, Mourne and Down recorded zero social housing completions between January and March and again recorded zero between April and June.
Aontú’s Newry representative said:
“Not a single social home was recorded as completed in Newry, Mourne and Down during the first six months of this year. At a time when thousands of households are waiting for social housing, that should set off alarm bells.
“Behind the waiting list figures are families who need somewhere secure and permanent to live. We cannot seriously address that need if we are going six months without a single social housing completion being recorded across the Council area.
“The Stormont parties need to ensure that sufficient funding and resources are being directed towards delivering social and affordable homes. The immense scale of need demands urgency, and people need to see tangible results rather than hear more empty promises.”
Across the North, only 358 social housing starts were recorded during the first six months of 2026.
Aontú has called for a fundamental shift in approach to housing to increase the supply of affordable homes and address growing need.
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