:00:28. > :00:31.A groundbreaking political deal on Girdwood has been made public,
:00:31. > :00:34.ending years of stalemate in North Belfast. There has always been a
:00:34. > :00:42.vision for Girdwood to be a shared site with a variety of different
:00:42. > :00:46.uses on it. What we now have is an greed plan in the way forward in
:00:46. > :00:49.that regard. This site is a great opportunity for regeneration.
:00:49. > :00:54.This's going to happen. There is all party agreement from North
:00:54. > :00:57.Belfast. A vast piece of land that has been left untouched for the
:00:58. > :01:03.past six years is to be transformed into a world-class community
:01:03. > :01:09.development of business, culture and tourism. 27 acres of shared
:01:09. > :01:13.space in an area devastated by some of the worse sectarian violence of
:01:13. > :01:17.the Troubles. The Girdwood deal has been heralded as a political rye
:01:17. > :01:21.triumph here. Evidence that the main parties in government have
:01:21. > :01:27.finally left sectarian politics in the past and are now committed to
:01:27. > :01:31.working together towards a shared future. That shared future does not
:01:31. > :01:35.include shared housing. Homes built for Catholics and Protestants here
:01:35. > :01:40.will be more than a quarter of a mile apart, on opposite ends of the
:01:40. > :01:43.site. What's happening here has nothing to do with bringing
:01:43. > :01:47.Protestants and Roman Catholics together. It an exercise where they
:01:47. > :01:50.can door knock and the DUP can say to their people, we got house there
:01:50. > :01:55.is. Sinn Fein can say, we got houses there. Housing has always
:01:55. > :02:00.been the deal breaker on this site. So why has agreement been reached
:02:00. > :02:04.now? The answer is money. The chance of �10 million European
:02:04. > :02:08.grant for Girdwood is about to run out. There has been pressure to
:02:08. > :02:13.come up with a deal ahead of the deadline. Tonight, we can reveal
:02:13. > :02:18.that the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, the body set up 41 years
:02:18. > :02:22.ago, to ensure the fair allocation of houses here, has been completely
:02:22. > :02:28.frozen out of the Girdwood deal. The housing executive has been one
:02:28. > :02:35.of the great success stories of the last 40 years. Not least because it
:02:35. > :02:39.embedded in our politics and public policy that housing needs informed
:02:39. > :02:45.housing allocation. If that principle, or if that approach is
:02:45. > :02:49.compromised, that should send out alarm bells. A former Chairman of
:02:49. > :02:53.the Housing Executive say it is must be protected from political
:02:53. > :02:59.interference. I have been disappointed by the lack of concern
:02:59. > :03:03.there appears to be on the part of some political parties in defending
:03:03. > :03:10.an organisation and a model which has been seen to work well in
:03:10. > :03:13.Northern Ireland since its establishment in 1971. It's
:03:13. > :03:19.absolutely fundamental to there being confidence in the delivery of
:03:19. > :03:23.social housing in Northern Ireland that it should be based on need
:03:23. > :03:26.rather than on some arcane territorial dispute. Yesterday,
:03:26. > :03:30.politicians didn't want to talk about the number of houses they
:03:30. > :03:34.have planned for the site. We can reveal that it falls far short of
:03:34. > :03:38.the numbers recommended for Catholics in the area by the
:03:38. > :03:43.Housing Executive, the decision raises difficult questions for
:03:43. > :03:46.nationalist politician in the area, in particular Sinn Fein. I find it
:03:46. > :03:50.inexplicable this a party like Sinn Fein, which talks about civil
:03:50. > :03:54.rights and talk abouts equality and so on, is lying down on one of the
:03:54. > :03:58.very basic issues that started the whole civil rights movement, which
:03:58. > :04:02.was fair housing. The fact that Sinn Fein are agreing to a lot less
:04:02. > :04:12.than what is needed, it is no not in their interest to do that,
:04:12. > :04:14.
:04:14. > :04:19.indicates to me there is some deal The vast Girdwood site, on one of
:04:19. > :04:23.the most bitterly contested peace lines in North Belfast. Six years
:04:23. > :04:28.ago, the Ministry of Defence handed the former army barracks to the DSD,
:04:28. > :04:32.the Department for Social Development, hoping a new use for
:04:32. > :04:36.the land would transform an area plighted by sectarian conflict and
:04:36. > :04:42.poverty. The plan has always been that the site would generate
:04:42. > :04:46.millions of pounds and much-needed jobs for the area. We thought, this
:04:46. > :04:50.is going to be a state-of-the-art development which will lift the
:04:50. > :04:56.spirits and hopes of all the people of that part of the city. That was
:04:56. > :05:02.the vision which lay behind. This we had seen what had happened down
:05:02. > :05:05.by the Lagganside, the development changed that whole part of the city.
:05:05. > :05:09.The Titanic quarter was being talked about. That was going to be
:05:09. > :05:12.a transformtive development on the other side of the river. As part of
:05:12. > :05:17.its shareded future initiative, the Stormont Executive insisted there
:05:17. > :05:22.would be no funding for the scheme without agreement from both
:05:22. > :05:26.communities. It would have to be a development as characterised as
:05:26. > :05:30.being shared space, neutral space and people from both parties of the
:05:30. > :05:36.community could buy into it. It would not be owned by one part of
:05:36. > :05:40.the community to the exclusion of the other part of the community.
:05:40. > :05:42.What prevented agreement for the last six years has been the issue
:05:42. > :05:47.of housing. Catholics and Protestants in the area have
:05:47. > :05:51.completely different housing needs. On the one side is a growing
:05:51. > :05:54.Catholic community, in chronic need of new housing, but with little
:05:54. > :06:00.available land to build on. On the other side, a declining Protestant
:06:00. > :06:06.community that it says it is being left to decay and fears being
:06:06. > :06:10.overrun on any site dominated by Catholics. Added to the mix,
:06:10. > :06:13.decades of sectarian conflict in an area which has more interfaces than
:06:14. > :06:18.anywhere else in Northern Ireland. It's not quite as easy as saying,
:06:19. > :06:23.there is an empty bit of land, let's build houses there. There are
:06:24. > :06:28.security issues, there are safety issues. There are strong senses of
:06:28. > :06:33.allegiance to territory and to place. That is under pinned very
:06:33. > :06:39.much by numerous security barriers, peace calls across the city which
:06:39. > :06:44.make any form of housing, build, new build housing very difficult to
:06:44. > :06:49.implement without, not only affecting the political geography,
:06:49. > :06:52.but also the sectarian go geography. Sinn Fein is closing the gap on the
:06:52. > :06:58.DUP majority in this constituency. There are fears that those in
:06:58. > :07:01.desperate need of housing have been sacrificed in the battle for
:07:01. > :07:06.political votes The Protestant population has been leaving North
:07:06. > :07:11.Belfast for 30 years. The real issue is the constituency and the
:07:11. > :07:14.votes. With the fact that they will not build houses for Catholics,
:07:14. > :07:19.still the nationalist vote has increased. The nationalist
:07:19. > :07:24.representation has increased. The fear of the unionist is that North
:07:24. > :07:28.Belfast will become a Sinn Fein constituency. According to Housing
:07:28. > :07:34.Executive figures, the clear majority of those who need to be
:07:34. > :07:39.rehoused as a matter of urgent si of Belfast are from the nationalist.
:07:39. > :07:43.Among them 60 young families. Connor and Elaine Matthews and
:07:43. > :07:48.their children, all under ten, are one such family. They live in a two
:07:48. > :07:54.up, two down house in the New Lodge have been on the waiting list for
:07:54. > :07:59.two years. This is through into the kitchen? Yes. Not much space?
:07:59. > :08:03.room at all. You have this tiny space at the back. Where do the
:08:03. > :08:08.chin children play? They play in their room or the living room.
:08:09. > :08:13.There is no other space for them to play. Shall we look at the
:08:13. > :08:16.bedrooms? There is little prospect of the family being rehoused soon.
:08:16. > :08:23.The house has single glaze tkwhraizing -- glazing and there
:08:23. > :08:27.are signs of damp. In this first bedroom this is you and your
:08:27. > :08:31.husband and Jennifer sleep. There is barely enough room to walk in
:08:31. > :08:35.past this cot. There is not. Jennifer is ready to go into the
:08:35. > :08:42.other room with the girls. Three girls in there? Yes. Why they need
:08:42. > :08:47.a bigger house, in North Belfast 350 people are now living in hostel
:08:47. > :08:51.accommodation, the majority in nation nags areas, while they wait
:08:51. > :08:57.for a home of their own. James and his three-year-old twinnes had been
:08:57. > :09:01.a hostel for almost two years. children were like nine months,
:09:01. > :09:07.touching a year, so they were. When I went down to the Housing
:09:07. > :09:12.Executive I said, we are on one couch. First I was in my brother's
:09:12. > :09:21.house then we went to my mum's house. My mum had two bedrooms.
:09:21. > :09:24.With the twins under a year, James assumed a host el -- hostle would
:09:24. > :09:28.be a temporary arrangement. I was scared when I first came. I was
:09:28. > :09:33.scared for the children. I really was. I didn't know who was going to
:09:34. > :09:38.be around me. Maybe drug takers or alcohol people or, you know... I
:09:38. > :09:43.didn't know what was going to be the score, like, when I went in
:09:43. > :09:48.there. It was really frightening at first. I wasn't coming Ouattara my
:09:48. > :09:52.front door just in case. After a while I noticed that people were OK.
:09:52. > :09:58.In recent weeks, James has been allocated a home in a nearby
:09:58. > :10:02.nationalist area. It will be more freedom, more space, yes. It's
:10:02. > :10:06.fantastic. It really is. I was overjoyed when I got the letter
:10:06. > :10:11.through, the offer through for the house. It was my last offer.I
:10:11. > :10:15.looked at it and went, brilliant, absolutely fantastic. He is looking
:10:15. > :10:20.forward to a new start for his children. In these streets, it's
:10:20. > :10:24.not unusual for teenage brothers and sisters to grow up together
:10:24. > :10:29.sharing one bedroom. I brought you round here because you can see the
:10:29. > :10:37.density. Front doors are a few yards apart. There are no gardens.
:10:37. > :10:42.These things were built above to stick in an extra bedroom. They are
:10:42. > :10:46.on top of each other. It's frightening. This is as dense as it
:10:46. > :10:50.gets. They are building mini blocks of flats in the middle of this.
:10:50. > :10:55.That is the entire park for the kids in this area. We have no
:10:55. > :11:00.ground that we can move to. Nowhere to build. No green spaces. We are
:11:00. > :11:05.bursting at the seams. Housing executive figures show that over
:11:05. > :11:08.90% of the new houses in North Belfast are needed by nationalist.
:11:09. > :11:14.Nationalists hoped that need would be reflected in yesterday's
:11:14. > :11:19.announcement, but actual housing figures were omitted. So far,
:11:19. > :11:24.community representatives on both sides have not been given any
:11:24. > :11:33.details of the deal. On this plan, there are two clearly marked
:11:33. > :11:38.residential areas. One of those areas is here, on the nationalist
:11:38. > :11:44.Antrim Road side of Girdwood a site which has capacity for 70 new
:11:45. > :11:49.houses. Here, right at the other end of the site, just outside the
:11:49. > :11:54.Girdwood boundary wall, on the unionist Clifton Park Avenue, a
:11:54. > :11:59.site with a capacity for 30 new houses. Will there be enough
:11:59. > :12:03.Protestants to fill those houses? Across the road from Girdwood,
:12:03. > :12:09.Nelson McCausland, the Housing Minister and MLA for this area has
:12:09. > :12:15.put in place a plan to build 45 new houses over the next three years in
:12:15. > :12:22.the unionist Lower Oldpark as well as the refurbishment of 26 old
:12:22. > :12:29.houses at a cost of �4 million. The Housing Executive figure show there
:12:29. > :12:38.are three families in urgent need of housing in the Lower Oldpark.
:12:38. > :12:44.His justification is that he is fulfill fulfilling that any deal
:12:44. > :12:47.must go hand in hand with surrounding communities.
:12:47. > :12:52.securing the regeneration of the deprived residential areas adjacent
:12:52. > :12:57.to the site. There is a need to rebuild communities in that area. I
:12:57. > :13:01.went to the Lower Oldpark and tried to develop the same for that area.
:13:01. > :13:05.That was always to be consistent with the principle. It's the
:13:05. > :13:09.principle that I think the vast majority will live up to. The
:13:09. > :13:12.principle of housing need determines housing allocation. If
:13:12. > :13:17.there is a genuine need for unionist housing that should be met.
:13:17. > :13:22.If there is a greater genuine need for nationalist housing that should
:13:22. > :13:27.be met. You cannot compromise those principles because they will
:13:27. > :13:30.struggle for and are won and have served us well. Some suggest that
:13:30. > :13:37.the Housing Minister's real commitment is to the repopulation
:13:37. > :13:41.of the constituency with Protestant There is the politics of housing
:13:41. > :13:46.which comes back to the symbolic need to maintain areas with
:13:46. > :13:50.populations in them and also the political and voting demographics
:13:50. > :13:54.of north Belfast. They come together which is the need for
:13:54. > :14:00.putting houses in a world park and hoping you can get people to go in
:14:00. > :14:04.and repopulate the airier and live there and stay there. You know the
:14:04. > :14:08.area, do you think people will move back in? It does not had a strong
:14:08. > :14:13.statement population four years. There is not a great demand at the
:14:13. > :14:18.moment, that's not to say you could not manufacture a demand if the
:14:18. > :14:22.houses come. The Housing Minister is now supporting an advertising
:14:22. > :14:28.campaign to bring Protestants back to the low altar Park. Brochures
:14:28. > :14:37.like this have been designed in a bid to persuade protestants on
:14:37. > :14:44.waiting lists. -- to change their area of choice in order to help
:14:44. > :14:49.repopulate here. It is looking at ways to repopulate the area, for
:14:49. > :14:56.people to come back in, there is also a high waiting list in
:14:56. > :15:02.surrounding areas on Shang call there. We are hoping to link into
:15:02. > :15:05.that list to bring people back into the community. Senior officials
:15:05. > :15:09.inside the Housing Executive have told us that while there is a
:15:09. > :15:13.genuine need for some regeneration in the low old park it is hard to
:15:13. > :15:16.justify it allocating so many new houses and an area where there is
:15:16. > :15:24.so little me then that a time whether ministers budget has been
:15:24. > :15:29.virtually halved. Brian Feeney, a historian and former SDLP
:15:29. > :15:32.councillor in North Belfast, says is similar process failed during
:15:33. > :15:38.the violence of the Troubles. He questions whether the housing
:15:38. > :15:45.minister is correctly interpreting the commitment of the vision to
:15:45. > :15:49.regeneration. 1986, when they were trying to build houses in almost
:15:49. > :15:55.the same place, they could not gut -- get any candidates. There were
:15:55. > :15:59.no takers. They could not anybody to come and live in houses -- get
:15:59. > :16:06.anybody. The huge demand for housing is on the Catholic side and
:16:06. > :16:11.building houses is not regeneration, it is naive to pretend to building
:16:11. > :16:19.houses is regeneration. It is not just nationalists who doubt
:16:19. > :16:22.Protestants will return to the area. Fred, a former Ulster Unionist
:16:22. > :16:29.councillor and MLA agrees it is unlikely large numbers will come
:16:29. > :16:33.back. This idea that somehow there will be a flood of Protestants
:16:33. > :16:39.returning to North Belfast is nonsense. What is the sense in
:16:39. > :16:42.banding and regenerating areas if people do not move back? There are
:16:42. > :16:51.housing prices within Protestant communities and with in different
:16:51. > :16:57.fields. Housing is a complicated issue. There are people living in
:16:57. > :17:05.conditions that are not satisfying. You cannot subdivide a housing list
:17:05. > :17:08.and a social need list into a party or voter list. You have to decide
:17:08. > :17:15.who in this instance is most in need of a house. Who needs it more
:17:15. > :17:19.than someone else? Sid says approving houses where there is no
:17:19. > :17:23.proven need undermines the principle on which the housing
:17:23. > :17:28.effective was established. should not be building houses where
:17:28. > :17:33.there is not that proven need. One issue of concern is why is that
:17:33. > :17:38.being done because resources are scarce? And if housing is not being
:17:38. > :17:43.constructed in accordance with what is the proven strategic need
:17:43. > :17:46.produced on a well established evidence based, that would be a
:17:46. > :17:51.matter for examination because it would represent a nonsensical
:17:51. > :17:55.expenditure of public funds. allocation of houses has historical
:17:55. > :18:00.significance in Northern Ireland. Catholics have long protested over
:18:00. > :18:03.discrimination. Fair distribution of public housing was one of the
:18:03. > :18:07.key demands of the civil rights movement and led to the setting-up
:18:07. > :18:11.of the current Northern Ireland Housing Executive. The hope was
:18:11. > :18:16.that in establishing that the organisation we could bring
:18:16. > :18:21.fairness to allocation of housing and also develop a more strategic
:18:21. > :18:27.approach to the construction of housing in Northern Ireland. What
:18:27. > :18:35.is the level of need in terms of the number of new homes required to
:18:35. > :18:39.be constructed, then how do you allocate those homes? In 2011 did
:18:39. > :18:44.then how he had approved plans to build 200 houses on dead wood, the
:18:44. > :18:49.number recommended by the Housing Executive. Had these houses being
:18:49. > :18:54.built and allocated on the basis of proven need? The vast majority
:18:54. > :18:58.would have gone to Catholics. Four months later, when Nelson
:18:58. > :19:03.McCausland became housing minister, he still the decision, citing the
:19:03. > :19:12.stipulation of the Gurd would plan for the agreement of the Protestant
:19:12. > :19:15.community next to the site. What is disturbing is that of all the
:19:15. > :19:19.schemes in Northern Ireland in relation to housing this was the
:19:19. > :19:27.only one remove from the programme by the minister and without
:19:27. > :19:35.explanation. Many suspect his decision is based on political
:19:35. > :19:43.prejudice, many suspect that, I hope not. However, on the face of
:19:43. > :19:46.it the minister's decision is perverse. But the minister insisted
:19:47. > :19:51.he was up holding the principle of a shared future for everyone in
:19:51. > :19:55.north Belfast. However, it was the first time a housing minister here
:19:55. > :20:04.had overturned a recommendation that a rising Executive involving
:20:05. > :20:11.Did a Minister ever ignore the advice, or recommendation of the
:20:11. > :20:16.Executive that had been made on objective proven need? No, the
:20:16. > :20:19.position was that the government would establish the broad policy
:20:19. > :20:24.which the expected the Northern Ireland Housing Executive to follow
:20:24. > :20:27.but it was clearly recognised that the Northern Ireland Housing
:20:27. > :20:31.Executive was the regional strategic housing authority,
:20:31. > :20:37.therefore there was no role, no scope for any direct rule minister
:20:37. > :20:41.to play any part in the question of determining need. There is no
:20:41. > :20:44.question that the housing Executive and other bodies are under much
:20:44. > :20:50.more pressure now than they wear under direct rule because under
:20:50. > :20:54.direct rule there was a housing branch in the Northern Ireland
:20:54. > :20:57.Office and that could always step in when pressure was put on by a
:20:57. > :21:03.local MP, for example, but that is not happening any more because it
:21:03. > :21:07.is local politicians who are carving up things to suit
:21:07. > :21:13.themselves. But this is not a view shared by the DUP. It sees the
:21:13. > :21:20.provision of housing in the areas as an essential part of
:21:20. > :21:26.regenerating the Unionist community. Here in the low were called Park
:21:26. > :21:32.the population has declined. Those left behind have found themselves
:21:32. > :21:37.living behind boarded-up properties. Local residents insist new houses
:21:37. > :21:47.are long overdue in an area that was decimated by the conflict and
:21:47. > :21:49.
:21:49. > :21:54.then left to decay. What happened The area is now known as a Peace
:21:54. > :21:57.Wall. There would have been a tax on individuals houses, this was at
:21:57. > :22:02.the height of the Troubles. Families then started to move out,
:22:02. > :22:08.they had Smalley and children and did not be faced with the danger.
:22:08. > :22:12.Slowly but surely you would get one resident and then the houses
:22:12. > :22:16.vandalised, not boarded up in time. The fear of the other community is
:22:16. > :22:20.also are the heart of the dispute. For some Protestants the allocation
:22:20. > :22:24.of a large number of houses to Catholics, albeit on proven need,
:22:25. > :22:29.would be a threat to the survival of the community in the area. They
:22:29. > :22:35.point to the near by a Torrens estate as an example of what they
:22:35. > :22:39.believe could happen. 10 years ago the estate was a small Protestant
:22:39. > :22:46.enclave surrounded by a growing nationalist population. The last a
:22:46. > :22:50.distant family is left in 2004. Today it is predominantly Catholic.
:22:50. > :22:54.Pete has worked with both communities here for many years.
:22:54. > :22:57.One of the problems with a small population is it is hard to
:22:57. > :23:03.reproduce itself because it becomes more elderly so there was a
:23:03. > :23:10.demographic issue because of low birth rates. Some people did leave
:23:10. > :23:13.because of intimidation, that is clear, some look for better housing
:23:13. > :23:23.but there was intimidation, I do not think there was any doubt of
:23:23. > :23:24.
:23:24. > :23:29.that. Four years later Torrance sparked a bitter debate.
:23:29. > :23:33.departure of those folk was overseen by a Sinn Fein councillor
:23:33. > :23:39.from north Belfast who was there as the workmen were put off the site
:23:39. > :23:43.by Republicans when the work men attempted to put up a small fence
:23:44. > :23:51.to protect those Protestant homes from serious and sustained
:23:51. > :23:56.sectarian attack. I am disappointed Nelson McCausland sectarian eyes is
:23:56. > :24:02.this issue. It is something that affects all the people in north
:24:02. > :24:06.Belfast. For many the lesson of these areas is that they need of
:24:06. > :24:10.families for homes cannot come before the consequences for
:24:10. > :24:16.community relations of changing the population balance him bitterly
:24:16. > :24:21.divided areas. However, the head of the equality commission is clear
:24:21. > :24:25.about where the priority should live. A public body cannot height -
:24:25. > :24:30.- hide behind promoting good relations in order to avoid a
:24:30. > :24:35.quality duties. A unionist may feel alienated but the situation for us
:24:35. > :24:42.would be in the allocation of houses anything other of need would
:24:43. > :24:47.mean the housing allocated, whoever it is, would be in breach of their
:24:47. > :24:54.statutory duty. Others argue cannot for the principle of equality ahead
:24:54. > :24:57.of the reality of life on the ground in Northern Ireland. You can
:24:57. > :25:01.only have proper air quality when you have built a society that is
:25:01. > :25:07.fair, but has good relations. If people are afraid to live where
:25:07. > :25:12.they want to live, that is not a quality. We understand the housing
:25:12. > :25:15.deal being brokered is close to the DUP's desire to promote community
:25:15. > :25:19.relations than for the desire of those who wish to see housing
:25:19. > :25:22.allocated on the basis of proven need. Nevertheless, in the spirit
:25:22. > :25:26.of something is better than nothing, nationalist parties appeared to
:25:26. > :25:35.have signed up to the deal. But that has led to frustration among
:25:35. > :25:39.some in the community. There is a general sense within the community
:25:39. > :25:49.that 40 years plus after the advent of the civil rights movement that
:25:49. > :25:50.
:25:50. > :25:53.they still feel they are being discriminated against. Unionist
:25:53. > :25:59.politicians might congratulate themselves privately on a strategy
:25:59. > :26:03.that is holding back some sort of green tide of republicanism,
:26:03. > :26:12.nationalism and of Belfast. It is a narrow, short-term, dangerous
:26:12. > :26:16.vision because it is entrenching sectarianism. What is to some
:26:16. > :26:21.entrenching sectarianism is to some of reversing historic Unionist
:26:21. > :26:25.decline. It is clear that since Nelson McCausland became housing
:26:25. > :26:31.minister his interpretation of allocating houses has differed from
:26:31. > :26:35.his predecessors. In the new large Carlisle area there are 165 cases
:26:35. > :26:41.of urgent need amongst nationalists, the minister has allocated 35 new
:26:41. > :26:48.homes here. In Cliftonville, where there are 170 cases, a has approved
:26:48. > :26:53.just 18. -- he has approved. Of his interpretation of the proven need
:26:53. > :27:00.real -- role in national areas has been frugal, has the almost
:27:00. > :27:04.completely ignored it in other areas? The answer is used a special
:27:04. > :27:08.provision to seek emergency of approval from Housing Executive for
:27:08. > :27:14.the new houses in the lower old park on the basis of regeneration
:27:15. > :27:19.without having to establish any proven need. There needs to be a
:27:19. > :27:23.re-examination of the most urgent priority and that is the basis on
:27:24. > :27:28.which expenditure decisions ought to be taken rather than some kind
:27:28. > :27:33.of social engineering. Many nationalists are unhappy that the
:27:33. > :27:43.principle of proven need is being disregarded but are very reluctant
:27:43. > :27:44.
:27:44. > :27:51.We are extremely worried that if we don't agree to whatever is put in
:27:51. > :27:55.front of us we will be seen to beholding back progress. That is
:27:55. > :27:59.not the case. This is about fairness. This is about equality
:27:59. > :28:03.and social justice. We are not saying who is going to Girdwood or
:28:03. > :28:07.any side we identify. We are saying, there is a housing issue there, we
:28:07. > :28:11.have the biggest waiting list in the North, we want to address it.
:28:11. > :28:18.It doesn't mat is on that waiting list. The bottom line in North
:28:18. > :28:22.Belfast is about voting and political geography. Over the last
:28:22. > :28:26.two elections you have seen the Sinn Fein proportion in the
:28:26. > :28:31.Westminster elections rise in comparison to the DUP vote. You
:28:31. > :28:36.can't get away from the fact that housing is linked to politics.
:28:36. > :28:40.Housing is linked to the power balance between Sinn Fein and the
:28:40. > :28:43.DUP. Politicians say they are buying into a shared future in
:28:43. > :28:49.North Belfast. The equality commission says it's keeping a
:28:49. > :28:54.watching brief on how events unfold in relation to housing. What I can
:28:54. > :28:57.say very simply is, equality isn't one for you, one for me. We have
:28:57. > :29:01.never said that. If anyone feels they have been discriminated
:29:01. > :29:06.against as a result of a an application of a policy, they would
:29:06. > :29:10.need to take forward a complaint to the quality commission. We would
:29:10. > :29:13.investigate it and if there were grounds we look into it. Last night,
:29:14. > :29:17.the Housing Executive had not been officially informed about the
:29:17. > :29:20.detail in the Girdwood deal. A figure within the Housing Executive
:29:20. > :29:24.told Spotlight it was almost beyond belief that no-one was willing or
:29:24. > :29:27.brave enough to put the plans in front of them. Officials have told
:29:27. > :29:31.us they are extremely concerned about the Housing Minister's
:29:31. > :29:36.decision to spend millions of pounds in an area where there is
:29:36. > :29:40.not enough depanned. They say they could be disciplined if they speak
:29:40. > :29:44.publicly. Both Sinn Fein and the DUP are vocal about their desire
:29:44. > :29:48.for a shared future. They have failed to translate that vision
:29:48. > :29:52.into people living together on Girdwood. John Dunlop says people
:29:52. > :29:56.will only live together if politic particulars -- politicians lead the
:29:56. > :30:00.way. We need to get from politicians is leadership. If
:30:00. > :30:05.leadership is being shown from the top. If this kind of vision of a
:30:05. > :30:09.shared future is being driven by people in leadership roles it will
:30:09. > :30:13.have an effect on the ground. Fein is the same as the DUP rule.
:30:13. > :30:18.They are in a difficult position. The enormity of that difficulty is
:30:18. > :30:24.that neither of them actually believes in the share future.
:30:24. > :30:27.Neither of them agrees on the definition of a shared future.
:30:27. > :30:35.the DUP and Sinn Fein declined to take part in this programme. In
:30:35. > :30:39.statements they both emphasised that the grid grid deal achieved
:30:39. > :30:43.all part agreement. Sinn Fein said housing should be allocated on
:30:43. > :30:47.basis of need and responsibility for implement that policy resting
:30:47. > :30:50.with the Housing Executive. Nelson McCausland is about to announce the