asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many public and local authority houses within the county of Armagh are unoccupied at the latest convenient date; what are the numbers involved in each area; and what are reasons for the houses being unoccupied.

I understand from the Housing Executive, the sole public housing authority in Northern Ireland, that at 31st January 1975 the following numbers of houses owned by the executive in County Armagh were unoccupied:

Area	Number of Dwellings
Armagh City	3
Craigavon	301
Lurgan	111
Portadown	174
Newry (that part which is in County Armagh)	6
	595

Of these, seven are old labourers' cottages lacking basic amenities which are to be sold; five have been burned out or severely damaged by bomb blast; 583 have been badly damaged by vandals and are being repaired in phase with the demand from families to live in them.