DEIRDRE Hargey, the Sinn Féin communities minister, has announced £162 million for new social housing this financial year - an increase of 20 per cent.
She also revealed 2,403 builds were started last year, 30 per cent above target, despite the epidemic.
Currently, only housing associations can build social housing.
Last November, Sinn Féin's Carál Ní Chuilín, who was standing in for Hargey, announced reforms of the Housing Executive that will let it return to building for the first time in two decades, with the help of new borrowing powers.
These policies all fit into an all-Ireland strategy for Sinn Féin.
Frustration at housing shortages has driven the party's dramatic growth in the Republic. If it can demonstrate progress in the north, it will reap rewards in the south.
Sinn Féin also wants to avoid any cross-border policy inconsistencies, to avoid allegations of hypocrisy from its Dáil opponents.
The best way to do this is straightforward public sector housebuilding. Sinn Féin has rejected every other approach proposed by southern rivals as too generous to developers and landlords.
It may well be right: the housing shortages now seen on both sides of the border cannot be addressed without a massive public sector building programme.
Northern Ireland did this in the 1950s and again in the 1970s - the once-a-generation cycle is no coincidence and another is long overdue.
While Sinn Féin's political positioning may be good, the scale of the problem remains daunting.
There are over 42,000 people on the waiting list here and the figure is still rising.
Hargey could double social housing starts and the backlog would take 20 years to clear.
Nor does Sinn Féin's stance address the ultimate demand of its new southern voters.
Most want housing to buy, not rent, so a revolution in private housebuilding is required alongside its public sector equivalent.
Planning policy is Stormont's key lever to encourage new housing. It falls under SDLP infrastructure minister Nichola Mallon.
Developers are often suspected of sitting on land and constraining supply to keep house prices high. The official answer is to grant planning approvals that expire within two to five years, depending on type.
However, the law only says work "must be begun" within this time limit, so digging a few foundations can keep a permission valid almost indefinitely.
To be effective, the requirement should be for the approved number of properties to be completed and put on the market. Deadlines need to be tighter and enforcement must be rigorous.
Most want housing to buy, not rent, so a revolution in private housebuilding is required alongside its public sector equivalent
The last time Stormont reformed overall planning policy it took a decade, caused enormous controversy and involved the whole executive.
But changing the expiration terms on planning permission is a tweak that would have a profound impact on housing supply.
Developers would counter that they face labour and skills shortages, inflated material costs and boom-bust cycles of demand, all of which make it difficult to roll out new houses at a steadily increasing rate, let alone to cut prices.
Is it beyond the wit of Stormont to address these issues? Training new construction workers - which appears to be the industry's main bottleneck - falls under DUP economy minister Diane Dodds.
Housebuilding in Northern Ireland faces the additional constraint of an overloaded water and sewage system.
Nichola Mallon is responsible for NI Water. Sinn Féin finance minister Conor Murphy is responsible for domestic water charging, deferral of which has stopped investment in the system.
Water charging is another controversy embroiling the whole executive. Sinn Féin is not going to support its introduction for reasons of popularity and consistency, north and south. However, ministers can tap developers for the cost of system upgrades.
The law already exists for enforceable planning agreements, requiring the landholder to build amenities or just pay money to any relevant authority or Stormont department, for any purpose.
This could be widened out to a general concept of taxing planning gains - the unearned wealth acquired through planning permission.
The division of responsibilities on the executive restricts what any one party can do on its own about private housebuilding, yet that is true of almost everything.
One party could certainly push the above ideas, try to gain a consensus for them or at least highlight the failure of others to agree.
Sinn Féin has four years to experiment at Stormont before the next scheduled Irish general election.
Given the dubious record of property and politics across Ireland, the party is pushing at an open door to demonstrate better housing policies.
