§ Mr. Peter Robinsonasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many squatters there are in properties within the boundaries of each of the 43 district 281W office areas of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive in Northern Ireland; how this compares with each of the last five years; and how many new cases there have been over the past 12 months.
Number of squatters as at: District March 1980 March 1981 March 1982 March 1983 March 1984 Belfast 1 532 559 457 245 101 Belfast 2 99 90 54 18 15 Belfast 3 1,071 846 764 618 432 Belfast 4 182 186 97 80 50 Belfast 5 312 231 127 134 38 Belfast 6 183 192 108 85 45 Belfast 7 155 140 96 60 33 Bangor — 1 — — — Newtownards 1 3 5 1 — — Newtownards 2 — 1 — — — Dundonald 9 4 4 1 1 Newtownbreda 8 4 — 2 1 Lisbum 16 20 11 4 3 Dunmurry 12 5 1 — — Poleglass 382 195 172 75 38 Downpatrick 20 9 4 3 4 Banbridge — — — — — Newry 1 19 8 7 2 3 Newry 2 1 3 5 2 1 Kilkeel — — — — — Armagh 34 23 6 10 1 Craigavon 18 8 — 1 3 Lurgan 52 31 18 13 10 Portadown 14 5 4 3 — Ballymena — 2 3 2 — Antrim 1 3 5 — — Newtownabbey 1 40 31 22 6 2 Newtownabbey 2 55 39 27 14 5 Carrickfergus 23 18 14 10 1 Lame — — — — — Ballycastle 1 1 1 1 2 Ballymoney 2 1 2 — — Londonderry 1 353 340 242 265 293 Londonderry 2 110 83 43 13 12 Londonderry 3 102 83 66 53 40 Limavady 8 6 4 3 3 Coleraine — — — — — Magherafelt 1 — 2 — — Strabane 81 74 70 74 68 Omagh 2 3 — 2 1 Cookstown 6 7 6 4 3 Dungannon 38 28 15 14 10 Enniskillen 1 — — — — Totals 3,946 3,285 2,458 1,817 1,219 The most up-to-date information available on new cases of squatting relates to the period 1 April 1983 to 31 March 1984. Over this period there were 765 such cases.