Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

When adding to the Constitution, one must get the wording right and at least try to understand how it may be interpreted by the courts in two, ten, 20 or 30 years time. As Deputy Pringle rightly pointed out, 83 countries have a statutory right to housing. In some cases, that is provided for in the constitution of the country. Each of those countries has a level of homelessness which may be better or worse than that in Ireland. In many of the countries, some people live in shanty towns. Enshrining a right in legislation does not necessarily solve the problem. I am sure the Deputy is aware of the situation in Scotland, where the statutory right to housing was written into law in 2012. Some people believe we should do likewise. Although housing numbers fluctuate, the housing list in Scotland is as long now as it was in 2012. Homelessness there declined initially, but is now rising.

A simple amendment to legislation or enshrining some wording in our law or Constitution does not provide homes for people to buy------

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