Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein)
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Last week I attended the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, at which the issue of Hungary and the opening of a monitoring procedure was discussed in depth both in committee and in the plenary session. In 2012 the Hungarian Government passed a law defining homelessness as an administrative offence, with the result that people who get caught sleeping on the street twice in six months can be punished with incarceration or monetary penalties that no homeless person could afford. After the country's constitutional court annulled the law for violating the human dignity of the homeless, their legal certainty and their right to property, the constitution was changed in March to reinforce the political decision to criminalise homeless people.

I realise that Budapest's capacity has been stretched to its limits, but deep poverty needs to be cured rather than banned. The United Nations has reported that an estimated 8,000 homeless people live in Budapest and between 30,000 and 35,000 are homeless in the country as a whole. The unemployment rate in Hungary is 10.9%. Homeless rights advocates have argued that shelters are overcrowded and are calling on the Hungarian Government to focus on providing affordable housing rather than temporary accommodation. According to an independent research team called the Third of February Working Group, there were only 10,205 official beds for the homeless in 2012. The UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty, human rights and the right to adequate housing has called on Hungary to revise its laws criminalising homelessness and stated that homeless persons should not be deprived of their basic rights to liberty, privacy, personal security and the protection of their family solely because they are poor and in need of shelter.

Hungary is obliged under the European Social Charter, the Council of Europe treaty and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to vindicate the right to adequate housing. The EU recognises the right to social housing and housing assistance in order to combat social exclusion and poverty, and in June 2010 it adopted the Europe 2020 strategy to promote social inclusion.

Homelessness is one of the most extreme forms of poverty and social deprivation. This law is an unacceptable violation of human dignity. The right to housing as set out in Article 31 of the revised European Social Charter should be guaranteed and Hungary should fulfil its obligations under Article 12.

A policy of repression and criminalisation is no answer to social problems. The Hungarian Government should revoke the law that makes it a crime to be homeless. It raises serious human rights concerns and is very difficult to reconcile with Hungary's human rights obligations. It defies logic to punish the poorest people in society just because they live on the streets. Fines and imprisonment will do nothing to address the fundamental problems which lead to homelessness.

I ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to set out the position Ireland is taking in respect of these laws, the deliberations he has undertaken with his Hungarian counterpart and whether the issue was raised during the Presidency, particularly in the context of human rights.

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for raising the matter. Unfortunately, the Tánaiste is not in a position to attend the House and has asked me to take the matter.

The foreign Minister in Hungary, János Martonyi , wrote to all EU foreign Ministers last March to inform them of changes to the Hungarian constitution which were subsequently approved by the Hungarian Parliament. The changes have given rise to a number of concerns within the EU, the wider international community and civil society on the independence of the judiciary, particularly the constitutional court of Hungary. There are also concerns about the possible curtailment of civil liberties. In a joint statement dated 11 March 2013, the President of the European Commission and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe expressed regret that their experts had not been afforded the opportunity to discuss the amendments with Hungarian officials before final approval. They also raised concerns about whether the amendments to the Hungarian constitution respected the principle of the rule of law, EU law and Council of Europe standards. The Tánaiste expressed in the Dáil Ireland's full support for the joint statement and encouraged the Hungarian Government to engage fully to ensure it meets its EU and international obligations.

The European Commission is conducting a detailed assessment of the amendment. In April, President Barroso wrote to Hungary's Prime Minister to indicate that, on a first analysis, the Commission had serious concerns about the compatibility of the constitutional changes with EU legislation and the principle of the rule of law. Also in April, during a debate on the constitutional situation in Hungary in the European Parliament, the Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs, Deputy Creighton, acting in her Presidency role, recalled the EU's basic values, which are set out in the treaty and also contained in the European Convention on Human Rights, to which all EU member states are party. She indicated that the promotion of the rule of law and the protection of fundamental rights are important priorities and noted that equality, tolerance, respect for human rights and the rule of law are the values on which the European Union is founded. Members of the European Parliament's LIBE committee are engaged in dialogue with Hungary and there is another important debate today in the EU Parliament in which the Hungarian Prime Minister is scheduled to participate.

The Council of Europe remains actively engaged on the matter, primarily through its Secretary General and advisory body on constitutional matters, the Venice Commission. At the joint request of the Secretary General and Hungarian authorities, the Venice Commission recently adopted a detailed opinion on the implications of the fourth amendment to the Hungarian fundamental law in which it set out several concerns, including concerns on the homelessness issue as raised by Senator Reilly. While indicating that there remains some difference of views in certain areas, Hungary has indicated that it will carefully examine the opinion and remains open for dialogue and co-operation. We support fully the efforts being made by the EU, the Venice Commission and the European Parliament, among others, to engage with the Hungarian authorities on this matter. We welcome the engagement that has been undertaken by the Hungarian authorities in recent months. This has led to some proposed changes to be voted on by the Hungarian Parliament in autumn.

While all concerns have yet to be fully allayed, including on the homelessness issue, the process of consultation is continuing. The Hungarian authorities have indicated that they are fully committed to dialogue with the relevant European and international institutions on these concerns. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and trust that the dialogue under way will lead to further changes which will address these concerns.