Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach referred to the NESC report No. 28, which came out in December. One of the things to which that report referred was the issue of incorporating social and economic rights into policymaking. Today, the Minister referred the issue of housing to the Housing Commission in respect of a possible referendum.

I want to pin the Taoiseach down as to what his view is on this issue. People Before Profit put forward a constitutional amendment Bill, which was passed by the Dáil, seeking to incorporate the right to secure, affordable housing into the Constitution, and for the State to prioritise resources towards the vindication of the right to housing in the midst of an absolutely dire housing crisis.

That would then give protection to tenants facing evictions by vulture funds or would give us the power to take over vacant properties that could be used to house people affected by the housing crisis which, arguably, the Constitution currently prevents although, frankly, that is an issue of dispute. It would allow us to bring in rent controls without any threat of legal action.

Is that what the Government is actually going to do now? In fact, the aforementioned Bill that was passed by the Dáil would achieve this. Is the Taoiseach in favour of putting the right to secure, affordable housing into the Constitution to vindicate that right?

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