Forty-first Amendment of the Constitution (Right to Housing) Bill 2026: Second Stage [Private Members]
Dail Éireann — 2026-10-01
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Rory Hearne (SD), Dublin North-West

I thank those who spoke in favour of the Bill, including Sinn Féin, the Labour Party, People Before Profit and my colleagues in the Social Democrats. They all spoke clearly and eloquently and made the case that was needed to be made as to the importance and significance of this Bill. I express my deep disappointment that the Government is opposing this. I am trying to figure out its reason for doing so. I do not think the Minister of State believes these arguments about distraction and that it might “delay delivery ... by creating uncertainty in the market”. The idea that a right to housing would create uncertainty in the market is nonsense. Did the Government ask the institutional investors for their response to this Bill and this is what they said? This is not serious. As Deputy Gibney said, it is disingenuous. It is not a serious engagement with this Bill, the work the Housing Commission put in, the work of the original convention in 2014, as Deputy Ó Broin pointed out, or with the work put in by all Opposition parties on numerous similar Bills.
To go back to the Housing Commission, this did not need to be a partisan Bill. It did not need to be seen through the lens of the Opposition versus the Government. The Government asked its own Housing Commission what it should do with this wording, and it came forward with this proposal. After listening to the debate and the Minister of State’s rationale, my conclusion, like that of Deputies Rice and Ó Broin, is that the Government is afraid of the people. It does not want to see resounding majority support for this referendum because that would mandate Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, this Government, to do things that they are clearly unwilling to do, nor does the market want to put in place that floor of protection. That is what the Government’s position shows.
I will specifically call out Fianna Fáil in this regard because it made a commitment previously, including its TDs who are now Ministers, to support a right to housing in a referendum. It is now actively denying people their fundamental right. This is a clear Bill that would give citizens in this country a fundamental right to housing, which so many are being denied. That is what the Bill sets out. The Government could do it, but it is saying “No.”. It is saying it is going to refuse to give citizens in this Republic a human right to housing. It is saying it is going to leave citizens without that right. We will see thousands of people continue to languish in homelessness, with the lives of both children and parents destroyed. There will be tens of thousands in hidden homelessness who are not even allowed to enter social housing lists or be eligible for emergency accommodation. Instead, they will be sleeping on the streets or in cars. A generation will continue to be stuck in their childhood bedrooms or forced to emigrate. The Government is actively denying people the right to housing, which is incredible. It is an incredible position for Fianna Fáil to take. It is saying it is not going to implement a right to housing or hold a referendum, despite previously committing to do so.
All the arguments have been made. This is not going to be a distraction. The Housing Commission said it would enhance the Government's obligations and requirements to deliver housing. Is that not a good thing? No one is saying the State is going to have an obligation to build or deliver a house for everyone. No one is saying that. Again, that is completely disingenuous. This would ensure that everyone has the right to access an adequate, affordable and secure home of a decent standard. It is about that need being met for everyone. That comes in many forms, including both State and private sector supply. Ultimately, it means the Government is responsible to ensure that our housing system delivers that. Currently, it is not doing so. It is failing so many people. The Government is afraid of a constitutional right to housing. It is unwilling to take it on because it does not have the courage of its convictions to solve this crisis fundamentally. That is why it is not bringing this legislation through.
I wish to highlight two particular groups. The first is our Gaeltacht communities and the housing issue they face in the Gaeltacht. There is a fundamental issue that their right to housing has not been delivered. It is fundamental. Is pobail mhionlaigh iad na pobail Ghaeltachta atá againn. Is iad a bhfuil fágtha againn de na pobail mhóra Gaeilge a bhí sa Stát seo 100 bliain ó shín. Tá easpa soláthair thithíochta ag lagú struchtúr na bpobal Gaeltachta agus ag cur thodhchaí na gceantar Gaeltachta i mbaol san fhadtréimhse. Ar an mbealach sin, tá cearta cultúrtha agus teanga na bpobal á séanadh ag an Státchóras sa tír seo i mbealach náireach gan aird ar an dochar atá á dhéanamh. Our Gaeltacht communities are minority communities. They are all that remains of the large Irish-speaking population that existed in this State a century ago. A lack of housing provision is undermining the structure of Gaeltacht communities and jeopardising the long-term future of these areas. A right to housing in our Constitution would support our Gaeltacht communities to have access to culturally appropriate housing that meets their needs. BÁNU, the group that has been working on this issue, has asked that the Minister for housing set up a commission to undertake an independent professional assessment and a linguistic impact assessment on the new national planning statement. I ask for that to be carried out because there is a real danger that the national planning statement will do the opposite of what it says with regard to supporting Gaeltacht communities. I ask the Minister of State to take that back to the Minister.
The second group I wish to highlight is disabled people. We heard Deputy Gibney talk about the Before We Die campaign, disabled people and their families. Joan Carthy from the Irish Wheelchair Association spoke in the audiovisual room this morning. I was struck by what she said. She said:
From a disability perspective, housing is about having the freedom to decide where you live, about being able to leave your parents' home and build a life of your own. It is about participating in your community, accessing education and employment, maintaining relationships and living with dignity. For people with disabilities, housing is not simply a roof over your head. It is independence, inclusion, equality and, more importantly, equity. Many people live with ageing parents because there is nowhere suitable to move to. Others are trapped in homes that no longer meet their needs. Others remain on waiting lists for years. Independent living cannot happen without housing. Community inclusion cannot happen without housing. Choice cannot happen without housing. A person cannot fully participate in society if there is nowhere suitable for them to live. That is why the right to housing and the right to independent living are inseparable. You cannot have one without the other because housing is not just about buildings; it is about belonging, opportunity and dignity. It is about whether every person in this country is afforded the same chance to live a full and equal life. So, yes, let us recognise housing as a constitutional right.
Those are the words of Joan Carthy from the Irish Wheelchair Association. They sum up why we need to put a right to housing in our Constitution. We need to do it for all those groups who are currently excluded and left behind because the system does not meet their needs and is not obliged to do so.
That is the fundamental problem. We still do not see or treat housing as a human right and that means so many groups are excluded.
The Minister has said he is going to oppose the Bill, which is deeply disappointing. The Social Democrats and the other parties here will continue to push for this. If the Minister votes against the Bill next week, which he said he is going to do, we will highlight that, we will show the public what position he has taken on this and we will continue to push for it because it is absolutely essential. I ask people who support this to contact their local TD to ask them to support it and to change their mind. There is time between now and next week in terms of people deciding.
I ask Fianna Fáil TDs, in particular, to look into their conscience, to look at what is going on in this country and to look at their previous commitments to see if this is actually the decision they are going to make. They are going to vote against giving people the right to access adequate housing, which they committed to in the past. That will be a shame if it happens.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-10-01/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-10-05T01:01:00+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-10-01