Public Consultation on a Referendum on Housing in Ireland launched

The Housing Commission has launched a public consultation seeking views on a Referendum on Housing in Ireland this week.

The consultation asks submissions to consider whether there should be a constitutional amendment and if so what form it should take. As many people as possible need to have their say about a Referendum on Housing in Ireland.

Members of the public, public representatives, organisations involved in housing, people working in related policy and legal areas are now invited to send in submissions to help the Commission provide independent advice to the government on a potential constitutional amendment.

According to Rory Hearne, Assistant Professor of Social Policy at Maynooth University and author of Housing Shock, the right to housing should provide framework for a radical shift in Ireland’s approach to housing. This right is set out in the UN’s rights-based housing strategies.

Call out-help make a referendum on the right to housing actually happen!
Can you please make a submission to the Housing Commission;
Ask for the Referendum to insert the Right to Housing in the Constitution
Some points to help you in thread; 1/5
Submit;https://t.co/I0gMSQYLGF

— Rory Hearne (@RoryHearne) July 5, 2022

The amendment would shift the public debate around treating housing as a human right and would create the positive and progressive obligation on the State to solve the housing and homelessness crisis.

The change would also ideally strengthen the Government's ability to implement housing policy measures with some level of permanence. Many housing activists at home and abroad have called for the right to a home or secure accommodation to be cemented into the Constitution.

The public consultation will remain open until Friday 2 September.

“I greatly welcome the launch the Housing Commission’s consultation on a Referendum on Housing in Ireland," John O’Connor, Chair of the Housing Commission, says. "Housing affects everyone and I recognise many people have views on what form a constitutional amendment on Housing might take. This consultation allows members of the public, people working in Housing and related areas, tenants and landlords to have their say on this important subject.

“I would like to use this opportunity to encourage anyone with a view to take part in this consultation. It is an important opportunity to assist us identify the wide-ranging and critical viewpoints on a referendum on Housing.”

The Housing Commission hosted a ‘Conference on a referendum on Housing in Ireland’ in the UCD School of Law on 10 and 11 May. The two-day conference featured a range of Irish and International experts who shared their views on housing experiences nationally and internationally and outlined the complex constitutional issues to be considered.

“Following on from our conference in May at which experts shared their views, we now seek a broader consultation with the public," Ailbhe O’Neill BL, Chair of the Commission’s Referendum Subcommittee, declared.

"This consultation is important to the Housing Commission in assisting us in our consideration of what a referendum on Housing in Ireland might look like. I urge anyone interested to use this opportunity to share their views with the Commission.”

There are 3 ways to provide your views:

• Through responding to the consultation, ‘Public Consultation on a Referendum on Housing’
• By emailing a submission to: [email protected]
• By posting a submission to: Housing Commission, Custom House, Dublin 1, D01 W6X0

Respondents are encouraged to keep their submissions to a maximum of 2,500 words.

Please provide your submission by Friday 2 September 2022.