Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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266. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 250 of 6 December 2017, the position in respect of Article 31 of the revised European Social Charter which relates to the right to housing and which Ireland has not to date accepted; if the position can be re-examined; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53400/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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Ireland ratified the Revised European Social Charter on 4 November 2000. At that time Ireland accepted 92 of the 98 paragraphs of the Revised Charter. Three of those paragraphs not accepted by Ireland make up Article 31, which relates to the right to housing.

The issue of the right to housing was debated in Dáil Eireann and Seanad Eireann recently.  Arising from this, a motion to refer the Eighth Report of the Convention on the Constitution, which dealt with economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to housing, to the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach was passed by the Dáil on 28 September 2017 and by the Seanad on 11 October 2017.

The matter of ratifying Article 31 of the Revised European Social Charter will be considered further after the Joint Committee has considered the matter.