Housing referendum and public homes
Patricia Ryan argued for urgent action on housing, including public homes on public land and a referendum on housing rights. The Taoiseach replied that public housing targets were being pursued and outlined the work of the housing commission sub-committee.
On page 120, the programme for Government commits to holding a referendum on housing. There are almost 7,000 people on the housing list in Kildare and there is a ten-year to 12-year wait for allocations. There is no sense of urgency in dealing with this issue. We need to build public homes on public land. If there is not enough suitable public land, we need to acquire it through compulsory purchase order. It is not acceptable for families with young children to live long-term in substandard accommodation or in hotels and emergency accommodation. We need urgent action and a strong constitutional amendment which drives an ethos of cost rental and publicly funded housing to deliver it. When is the Government going to act to bring forward this referendum?
Comment on this
The Government is committed to public housing. In particular, 12,000 is the target for 2022, 9,000 of which will be built.
That would be the highest ever and we are in line to achieve that in 2022.
On the referendum, the commission on housing which has been established has established a sub-committee chaired by Ailbhe O'Neill, a barrister with extensive experience working in constitutional law and deep expertise in property rights. She is joined on the sub-committee by Sorcha Edwards, secretary general of Housing Europe; Pat Doyle, CEO of the Peter McVerry Trust; and Patricia King, general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. There will be some external members with expertise. They are charged with coming forward with a proposal for a constitutional referendum on housing.