Letters

Housing and the Constitution

The people deserve the opportunity to vote to reframe the State’s role in housing

Sat Mar 11 2023 - 00:09

Sir - The recent controversy over the eviction ban highlights the challenge faced by Government when crisis forces the rights of citizens into conflict. In that context, the news that progress on a referendum on housing has stalled, reported in your article “Work on housing referendum delayed over disagreement on constitutional reform” (News, March 9th) is hugely disappointing.

The eviction ban debacle is a prime example of why Constitutional reform on housing is urgently needed. As it stands, there is a fundamental imbalance in the Constitution, with strong recognition of private property rights but no recognition whatsoever of housing as a basic human need. If the Constitution recognised a right to housing in addition to recognising private property rights, there would be a clear framework for the State to apply when those rights came into conflict. The State would be obliged to find a solution that respected and fairly balanced the rights of everyone concerned; renters, homeowners, landlords.

Instead, we are left with a situation where the rights of vulnerable citizens facing homelessness are a mere political consideration while the rights of private property owners are given constitutional weight. The result, the eviction ban being lifted with only vague promises of solutions for those facing homelessness, makes the practical impact of this imbalance clear.

This latest ignominious chapter in the housing crisis only serves to underline the urgency of Government delivering on its commitment to hold a referendum on housing. The people of Ireland deserve the opportunity to vote to reframe the State’s role in housing; as not only as a protector of private property rights but also as a protector of our basic human right to safe and secure housing. – Yours, etc,

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AOIFE KELLY-DESMOND,

Managing Solicitor,

Mercy Law Resource Centre,

Dublin 8.