John Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate that. However, the Constitution is a rigid document. It is not so much a living document like a policy document or a statement would be. It requires a vote of all citizens of the country to change it. It is not like a policy statement or document, which can be a living document that can change as times change. That is where I come up against the difficulty of that wording around "adequate housing". It is not that I have a difficulty with it; it is about understanding it. The biggest issue when we get to a referendum will be being able to explain to the public what we are inserting into the Constitution. We have seen many times before that where there is uncertainty among the public about what they are voting for, they will vote against it. There is no surer thing than that. There is a huge body of work to be done and we need to tease the wording out and understand it. Using words like "could" is probably an uncomfortable place for the public to be in as regards knowing and being knowledgeable about what they are voting for.

I have another concern. We are saying everyone has the right to housing but who determines that right? If I have the means to look after my own housing, could I choose, because there is a right inserted in the Constitution, to lean upon the State and say I need the support of the State to look after my housing needs even though I am in a position to do so myself? This is going back to those unintended consequences that Senator Boyhan referred to.