The Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) has said sorry for the second time in a week after incorrectly stating publicly that it had only been made aware that a vulnerable Fermanagh resident had been without a toilet for almost six months.

NIHE fixed the issue last week less than 24 hours after an article about the woman’s plight appeared in this newspaper. The resident, who does not wish to be named, was forced to use plastic bags during this period despite lodging complaints with the NIHE since the problem at her home outside Enniskillen began.

But she was not alone; her friend also complained to the organisation on several occasions, as did Ulster Unionist MLA Rosemary Barton who e-mailed her complaint, a copy of which was seen by this newspaper last week. Yet despite this the NIHE issued a statement last week claiming it only knew about it when it was contacted by The Impartial Reporter the previous day.

Last Wednesday afternoon, NIHE delivered a portaloo to the woman’s home, dropping it off outside her front gate, and the next day workers returned to fix the toilet and did so within hours. In a statement the day before NIHE offered the resident “temporary accommodation” but this was not required.

A spokeswoman for NIHE has clarified last week’s utterances, saying: “We would once again like to apologise to our tenant for the amount of time it has taken to resolve the issue at this property.

“Unfortunately, miscommunication at the early stages of the Covid-19 lockdown period was a factor in this case. This was a genuine error.

“Initially, we thought this case may be more complex to complete than it transpired and therefore we made the offer to provide temporary accommodation to our tenant.

“The issue has now been resolved,” she said.

The resident, who has special needs, told this newspaper: “I am delighted that it is fixed, it’s a pity it took six months though.”