Professor Gerard Whyte:

I thank Ms Keatinge. The right to free primary education was an outlier. The Irish Constitution does not specifically recognise any socioeconomic right other than the right to free primary education. At the turn of this century, the Supreme Court indicated it was not appropriate for the courts to identify implied socioeconomic rights. That is why we are in the current circumstances, in which we have to argue for referring the matter to the people to allow them to vote on including a right to adequate housing in the Constitution.