The Housing Executive should consider evicting social housing tenants if they are involved in racist or sectarian incidents or protests, according to NI Conservatives’ spokesman, Mark Brotherston. Mark made his comments after protesters unveiled ‘local houses for local people’ banners at the new home of a Nigerian man, in east Belfast.
“The Housing Executive has a responsibility to send out a strong message that residents of social housing do not get to veto certain neighbours, based on the colour of their skin, their religion, their country of origin or any other prejudice”, Mark said. “Racism in Northern Ireland is a growing problem and a stain on our reputation. As a society, we need to make it abundantly clear that bigotry and hatred will not be tolerated, under any circumstances. A particular responsibility lies with the police, public bodies like the Housing Executive and, of course, politicians.”
“It’s extremely worrying that the First Minister keeps giving mealy-mouthed responses to instances of racism. In the latest circumstances in east Belfast, he should make it quite clear that local residents do not get to determine the distribution of social housing in any given area. Nor do people necessarily have a right to be housed within a particular handful of streets, at the taxpayer’s expense. Bigotry and a sense of entitlement have combined, in this instance, as ingredients of a particularly noxious brew and Peter Robinson’s electoral calculations should not affect his ability to issue a proper condemnation.”
“Until people start being prosecuted by the police and locked up for hate crimes, until public bodies start acting wherever there is a suspicion of prejudice and until we start to get real leadership from politicians like the First Minister, Northern Ireland’s reputation will continue to be tarnished by racism. That is unacceptable and we need to act immediately to prevent the perception that we are a racist society, or that bigotry is somehow acceptable, from taking root.”