Concerns have been aired over the growing issue of child sex offenders being allegedly granted NI Housing Executive accommodation next to families.
Dungannon councillor, Barry Monteith, aired his thoughts on the the placement of child sex offenders in communities, something he said was more widespread than just his local area.
“I have been inundated, and I’m sure other councillors have as well, about ‘dumping’ – it’s an expression that has been used to me – these individuals in housing developments, in blocks of flats where there are young families and children,” said Councillor Monteith.
“People feel that this is not acceptable, there is no communication with local residents, there is absolutely no ability for them to get the information that they need to keep their family safe.
“I don’t expect the Housing Executive here tonight to be able to come back specifically on it, but it’s more and more of an issue within our local communities.
“I don’t think the powers-that-be are listening to our local communities, and it’s always in social housing that these folks are being dumped, it’s always the areas with the poorest standards of housing and the poorest social conditions where these individuals are being dumped.
“On a weekly basis we see this now in our area. [According to] some of the figures it seems to be that Mid Ulster has a higher percentage of these, and particularly the Dungannon area seems to have a higher percentage of these than other areas.
“I would like the Housing Executive to respond, even in the future, to the council about how many of them they’re housing, because it just seems to be the case that we have families waiting on houses [for] years, and individuals like these come straight out of jail and straight into brand-new homes.
“It’s not acceptable and the community is up in arms about it.”
Council Chairman, Councillor Eugene McConnell, said he shared that view: “I think everyone in the room would concur with those sentiments, and I think it is a vitally important aspect that probably does need in some way highlighted, or in some way dealt with.
“There could be some details in terms of quantity and numbers, but also I appreciate that there’s issues around confidentiality and all that.
“It is a very pressing issue in a lot of areas, not just in and around Dungannon but in some of the rural communities that also find themselves with these types of situations, and I think it’s definitely something that should be included going forward within the report.
“It’s a growing concern for us as council members and people working within our communities.”
NIHE director of Finance, Audit and Assurance, Catherine McFarland, explained at the meeting that she was not in a position to comment on the issue raised: “You’re absolutely right, it’s not something that we could make comment on.
“We take note of the comments and will see how we can respond to that.”
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