Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The commitments in relation to constitutional reform in the programme for Government provide for the holding of a referendum on housing. My Department has begun the initial work on scoping the complex issues involved and will in due course make recommendations on how we might progress such a referendum. I do intend to, and will, consult with my colleagues in government as to the proposal that should be put to the electorate and the appropriate timeframes that should apply to the process. Having regard to the breadth of commitments on housing in the programme for Government, as alluded to earlier by the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, my immediate focus and priority is the delivery of homes and the question of a referendum on housing will be addressed over the course of the lifetime of the programme for Government. It is an issue I worked on in opposition too. People and organisations such as Mercy Law Resource Centre have done substantial work in this regard. We need to look at constitutional protections and protections and rights under legislation and to examine the legislative protections in other countries such as Scotland, Wales and others such as Finland. There is a basis for how we can structure it. There is also a reality issue into next year in terms of whether we could hold referendums. We need to use that time to prepare in that regard.

I thank the Deputy for his question.

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