Homelessness charity calls for constitutional ‘right to a home’

Homelessness charity Focus Ireland has called for a referendum on incorporating a “right to a home” into the Constitution.

The charity’s five-point plan to tackle the housing and homelessness crisis calls for the referendum to be held early in the term of the next Government.

In an earlier submission to the Constitutional Convention, the charity said such provisions “would vindicate Ireland’s international human rights commitments on the right to adequate housing and contribute to policies which would reduce homelessness and create a fairer approach to the provision of housing in Ireland”.

The Government has previously faced calls to incorporate a range of economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights into the Constitution.

Mike Allen, director of advocacy, said: “The outgoing Government did some work to help prevent families and individuals from becoming homeless and others to move on and secure a home.

“However, the actions were neither sufficient nor fast enough to deal with the problems, and in some areas, such as Rent Supplement, they actually helped transform the housing crisis into a homeless emergency. We must make sure these mistakes are not repeated.”