Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will speak to the motion on the Eighth Report of the Convention on the Constitution, and I thank Members of Seanad Éireann for this opportunity to discuss the very important rights issues raised in the eighth report. As they will all be aware, the eighth report of the Convention on the Constitution considers a range of issues. It recommends specifically that the Constitution be amended to strengthen the protection of economic, social and cultural rights. Some 56% of the members of the convention wished to make recommendations for reform immediately, while 43% wished to refer it elsewhere for further consideration of the implications of possible reforms.

The most popular option for reform was the insertion of a provision into the Constitution that "the State shall progressively realise economic, social and cultural rights, subject to maximum available resources and that this duty is cognisable by the Courts". In relation to which specific rights should be enumerated in the Constitution, 84% considered the right to housing should be included, 78% considered the right to social security should be included, and 87% considered the right to essential health care should be included. The percentage in favour of the inclusion of rights of people with disabilities was 90% and the percentage in favour of the inclusion of linguistic and cultural rights was 75%, and 80% considered that the rights covered in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights should be also included.

Obviously, the range of issues and the implications arising from inserting these in the Constitution raise questions, which need further exploration and discussion.The issues arising include the suitability or otherwise of the Constitution as a vehicle for providing for detailed rights in these areas, the possible costs arising, and the fact that there is already power under legislation to confer rights and determine expenditure via primary and secondary legislation, that there is an elected and accountable Government and Oireachtas and that, unlike the Constitution, such legislation can be varied as needed and as availability of resources allows.

Other Issues include the absence of provisions for Revenue to provide for any ensuing expenditure, concerns about transferring the power to the Judiciary, which is unelected, to make decisions affecting the allocation of resources which are more appropriate for an elected Parliament and Government and the current position of the State as regards debt levels and the need to meet stringent EU rules into the future.

On the question of inserting the right to housing into the Constitution, the announcement yesterday that there will be close to €2 billion available for housing in 2018, a sum that would have been unthinkable a few short years ago, is further evidence of the priority placed by this Government on securing homes for people and, in particular, addressing the challenge of homelessness. The package of measures announced yesterday will mean that the housing needs of more than 25,000 households will be met next year.

In addition to the significant increase in funding for 2018, the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, also announced yesterday that he has secured a further €500 million for investment in social housing for 2019 to 2021. This is in addition to the previously committed sum of €5.35 billion for housing projects. This will allow the overall Rebuilding Ireland social housing target to be increased from 47,000 to 50,000 units, with a total funding envelope for Rebuilding Ireland of more than €6 billion. The All-Party Committee on Housing and Homelessness in the term of the previous Government recommended that we would reach a level of 10,000 social housing units per year, giving a total of 50,000. We are on track with its recommendation. We have always said we believed in doing that when the resources would become available. The overarching aim of Rebuilding Ireland is to ramp up delivery of housing from its current undersupply across all tenures to help individuals and families meet their housing needs. Members can be assured that this is the number one priority of Government.

On inserting the right to housing in the Constitution, a range of matters need to be considered. There are already specific, substantive and procedural rights for housing in place arising from existing legislation and case law. For instance, a person has the right to apply for and be assessed for social housing assistance, and if deemed qualified for social housing, that is, having met the income and need criteria, a person will normally qualify immediately for housing assistance payment, HAP, subject to fulfilling the conditions of the scheme, such as the suitability of the accommodation selected etc. If a person does not opt for housing assistance payment, HAP, he or she is placed on a list for allocation of a social housing home in accordance with the local authority’s allocations scheme. Where a person avails of housing assistance payment, he or she may on request to be placed on a transfer list to be allocated a social housing unit by the local authority, again in accordance with the local authority's allocations scheme.

There are also many legal protections for the family home and numerous new or recent protections for tenants renting in the private sector. These are very important issues that need further consideration. We will discuss the mortgage-to-rent scheme and it is important that we have a discussion on people's rights and so on as we relaunch that scheme. I look forward to questions on the right to housing together with the other rights referred to in the eighth report being fully considered by the Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach.

We had this discussion in the Dáil recently on a motion. It is believed that the committee is the best place in which to discuss and tease out all the possible scenarios that will arise if we enshrine the right to housing in the Constitution, along with other rights as well. I think most people, even those who tabled the motion, agree that it is not just a simple decision but one that needs to be teased out. It is welcome that the Bill was not opposed and that it was referred to the Select Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform and the Taoiseach.

I thank Members for their time and I look forward to responding at the end of the debate.