Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will take five minutes. I thank the witnesses from Home for Good. The committee and I firmly believe that everybody needs a home. It is a human right and, as previous speakers said, we are in a different world now. I have been a councillor, Senator and Deputy for more than 20 years and have seen the need and criteria for housing over the years. This referendum has to happen. The policy measure to meet the need is the biggest issue we will have, going forward. That needs to be addressed, whether we are considering people living with disabilities or older people. People are living longer and the housing systems within the 31 local authorities are not catering for that fact. All of us here know people who suffer from mental health problems. Local authorities are not equipped to deal with people who are looking for housing. We must implement policies to meet the needs and criteria of how people are living now.

Families and single people are coming to me now. We have no housing for single people. This needs to happen. We cannot leave it any longer. All of us have a duty to the people of Ireland to meet and to give them this referendum so that we can change policy because we are falling down on policy. We cannot blame our local authorities but we, as a Government, have to do this. One of the speakers said that, hopefully, this should be done within a year. As we know, in 2014 this was spoken about and we said it would happen but we need to make it happen now.

The Government is paying out so much money on rented properties to local authorities through HAPs for people who are looking for housing and we now need a policy to build. To do this we need proper legislation and policies in each local authority. We need to look at a different road and to build more rather than having rented properties.

We also need to look at the eviction ban. I do not want to see anybody facing homelessness or families living in hotels which is a very emotional issue. I am dealing with cases in Carlow where I have particular people who are in homeless situation and are in this position for over a year now. That is unacceptable. I am aware that we cannot solve everything overnight with a referendum but by putting this into the Constitution we can make significant changes. We need a proper referendum and a Constitution in which we can deal with everyday living.

We have lost that. Everybody is doing their best and I am not here to criticise anyone. Due to our situation and the way in which everybody’s livelihood has changed, people who are working and are looking for mortgages cannot get them anymore. These people are working and paying such high rents and we have no proper policy in place for them. We cannot say that they do not have to go on the local authority list because we can now help them to get a mortgage. That is what is happening. This policy with a referendum will play a significant part in people’s lives and will give people a different outlook on what we can do as a Government to give them that better quality of life which people need. Children need to know that they have a home and if we cannot deliver on this, as a Government, we are failing our country.

My questions are as follows. The timescale is of great importance. Speaking on the housing committee is fine but have our Home for Good Coalition guest witnesses been meeting with other organisations? In order for us to move forward and more quickly on this, what do our witnesses believe we need to do now, besides our meeting today? What do they believe we can deliver upon to ensure that we get this referendum and can bring in proper policies to meet the criteria of the changing times that we are living in now? That is the biggest issue here as we are in a completely different world now.

I welcome this proposal and I will give it my full support. I see it in my own constituency of Carlow-Kilkenny where I am dealing with families every day. It is getting harder. It is just one case after another. People are getting angry and think that they are forgotten. We cannot allow this to continue any longer. What do we need to do in order that we are not sitting here again in another six years with no referendum or change in the Constitution, or do not have the proper policies that need to be brought into our local authorities, through the Government? I thank the committee.