Northern Ireland’s housing budget is facing a £100m black hole — meaning the loss of 1,000 newly built homes every year, Executive Minister Margaret Ritchie has confirmed.

The Social Development Minister said she regarded the shortfall as “unacceptable” and warned there will be difficult decisions ahead.

But the SDLP Minister also argued the decision of the Stormont Executive against revisiting the three-year Budget could no longer be sustained.

Addressing a major housing conference in Belfast, Mrs Ritchie said: “With record waiting lists, high levels of housing stress and excessive homelessness, the housing sector will have to fight for every available penny if we are going to tackle these major social ills.”

As academics, the Housing Executive and other agencies gathered yesterday to examine the “unprecedented” challenge facing housing, the Minister said new builds were likely to amount to 1,100 in the current financial year — 400 fewer than initially envisaged.

“I believe we now need to put housing on a long-term and secure financial footing. Living hand-to-mouth in hopeful anticipation of extra money from quarterly monitoring rounds is simply not acceptable,” she said, referring to a recent £10m ‘refund’ approved by Finance Minister Nigel Dodds after meetings with Mrs Ritchie.

“Unless there is a dramatic improvement in the economic environment, the housing budget is facing a serious shortfall in the magnitude of £100m in each of the next two years.

“This is equivalent to the loss of 1,000 new build houses each year. To me this is unacceptable,” she said.

“I remain convinced, as do a number of leading economists, that there is a need to increase investment in social housing, to stimulate the economy, protect jobs and help those in housing stress.

“I do not believe the Executive's decision not to revisit the Budget is any longer sustainable.”