Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 22 October 2024
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government
Constitutional Referendum on Right to Housing: Discussion
3:00 pm
Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party)
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Thank you, Senator Cummins. I am always conscious that those participating online are at a disadvantage. I may not see a hand being raised but if witnesses switch on their microphones and indicate, I will call them.
I do not know if we are going to have time to have further meetings on this topic but the committee was tasked by the Minister to look at these reports and report back to him. The Minister has also written to us indicating he will convene a group with expertise on this to also advise. Our role here is not to say whether the minority report or the majority report was correct. The fact that we have two reports and two suggestions is healthy. It is a good place to be because changing the Constitution is a very significant thing to do. We need to be cautious. I thank members of the Housing Commission and those who felt they could not agree with the commission's report and who took the time to produce their own report.
My first question is for Home for Good. Its representatives appeared before this committee two years ago and proposed a wording for the Constitution. The Housing Commission report proposes a potential wording for a constitutional change and the minority report outlines a possible wording for Article 45. How much does the Home for Good wording differ from that in the Housing Commission report?
My next question is for the minority report grouping. Its wording is not set out as specifically as the Housing Commission's report. Rather, it refers to changes to could be made to Article 45. It would be helpful if the group would submit to the committee the actual wording it would put in to Article 45. I will go to Home for Good first and then to Mr. Lyons and Mr. O'Flynn.