Ulster Unionist East Belfast MLA, Andy Allen has sought and received assurances from senior representatives of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) on the issue of tower block safety.
Andy Allen MLA said:
“In the aftermath of the tragedy of the Grenfell Tower fire in London, there has been much concern regarding the safety of tower blocks in Northern Ireland, and in particular those tower blocks which have recently been clad or are currently undergoing cladding.
“Today I received assurances from senior representatives of the NIHE, that the two cladding systems in use in Northern Ireland do not contain the same aluminium composite material which was in use in Grenfell Tower.
“I was also given details of the due diligence carried out by the Housing Executive prior to the installation of cladding and the safety checks carried out since the tragic events in Grenfell Tower, which have tested the combustibility of the cladding systems in use.
“While I am encouraged by the steps taken so far I will continue to work with the Housing Executive in the weeks and months ahead to ensure that the lessons learned from the Grenfell disaster are applied in Northern Ireland.
“It is essential that residents can have confidence that any risk is kept to the absolute minimum.”
ENDS