Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for attending and I am delighted to welcome them to the committee. As the other speakers in my group will indicate, Fianna Fáil is very supportive of this proposal. I come from Dublin Central and I have been a city councillor for 15 years. I come at the housing crisis, therefore, from the lived experience of my constituents over those 15-odd years.

I firmly believe in a couple of things, one of which is that the housing crisis will only be solved if there is the political will to do so. The inclusion of such a commitment in the Constitution would take it away from the transience of day-to-day politics and would make it a State commitment to provide adequate housing to citizens, which is really important. It is only with that strong commitment that it will become something that is perpetuated, which is what we need it to be. As I am not a constitutional lawyer by any stretch of the imagination, I will defer to those with much greater knowledge but I strongly believe that traditionally and historically, everything has been weighted towards the rights of private property, which is understandable. Not to take away from that, we should use this as an opportunity to assert the State's commitment to people's human rights and their rights as individuals to achieve their full potential. Mr. Stanley mentioned the Covid-19 pandemic. Through the housing crisis, I have seen how not having a home or a place that is secure and to which one can go, close the door and have a bit of quiet time and peace of mind - without necessarily owning it - deprives people of their ability to go to school, do their homework, go to college, progress in life or contribute to our society.

As we approach this issue, we should look at asserting that right, namely, the provision of housing and secure homes, as contributing to each individual's right to achieve his or her full potential. I am interested to hear from the lawyers how that can be captured in any amendment. From my understanding, there are very limited examples internationally of such a right being included in constitutions but the witnesses should talk a little about how or if it has worked and how that can be demonstrated. I thank the witnesses for their engagement with the committee and look forward to working with them to deliver this referendum as part of the work in the next four years of the Government.