New Northern Ireland communities minister to have ‘strategic focus’ on ‘big issues like housing’

It collapsed after former DUP first minister Paul Givan resigned in February 2022 in protest against the Northern Ireland Protocol. The post-Brexit deal means checks are required on goods coming into Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK.

Sinn Féin made history in May 2022 after becoming the first Irish nationalist party to win the most votes in a Northern Ireland Assembly election. 

But the DUP, which has held the post of first minister since 2007, said it was not prepared to re-enter a power-sharing executive until its concerns about the protocol were dealt with.

After the deal was agreed, Mr Lyons was appointed communities minister. He took over from Deirdre Hargey, who served in the post from 2020 to 2022. 

Mr Lyons, from the DUP, previously served as minister for the economy from 2021 to 2022 and has been a member of the legislative assembly for East Antrim since August 2015.

He said: “My strategic focus is on those programmes and policies that are transformative for people’s lives and for our society.

“There is a huge task ahead, particularly due to the budgetary constraints, but I am up for the challenge. I will be looking carefully at every pound spent to make sure it goes to those who need it most and to deliver positive impact for people.

“That will include big issues like housing, so that people can have access to safe, warm and affordable homes, and major projects across the sports portfolio.

“It also means continuing with initiatives to boost employability and promote regeneration across Northern Ireland. 

“Over the coming weeks I will be actively engaging with all stakeholders and partners. I look forward to getting out to see initiatives at first hand and hearing a wide range of views and experiences.

“As I said when I took up my post, I believe this is an executive which has to be marked by delivery. I will play my part to the full extent to realise opportunities for all the people of Northern Ireland.”

The Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Associations and the Chartered Institute of Housing have been calling for housing to be a strategic outcome in the Programme for Government (PfG). 

The PfG, developed by the Northern Ireland Executive, currently includes nine strategic outcomes such as “having a caring society” and “children having a good start in life”. 

However, housing was not included in the list of outcomes in the most recent draft PfG framework.