Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 5 July 2022

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government

Right to Housing: Discussion

Photo of Cian O'CallaghanCian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I will follow up on the point about whether, if it were to be passed, a referendum would create an expectation of change and give rise to a rights-based approach. In previous referendums, especially very controversial ones, much work was done on the implementation. It was not just about the wording but about how the detail of a change would be implemented. Some of that was provided to the electorate as part of a referendum process to show people what a constitutional change means if they make it. Does he think there is a case for spelling out, as part of a referendum, what the Government, State and Department will do and what processes will be put in place to assist people to vindicate their rights? Is it a case, if a referendum were to be successful, of people and organisations having to start to individually look for advice, to take test cases, and so on? Is there an argument for doing some of that work on implementation and how people can assert their rights as part of the preparation for a referendum?

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