Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 28 Nov 2002

Vol. 558 No. 3

Written Answers. - Housing Policy.

Trevor Sargent

Question:

204 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the way in which he plans to respond to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which heavily criticised Irish social housing programmes as being inadequate; and if he will also accede to the request for a right to housing to be part of the Constitution in rectifying this. [24111/02]

Minister for the Environment and Local Government (Mr. Cullen)

Ireland's response to the views of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on Ireland's second report on the measures adopted to give effect to the provisions of the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, including housing measures, will be detailed in Ireland's third report to the UN committee.

The Government does not propose to bring forward an amendment to the Constitution in relation to a right to housing. This is in line with the 1996 report of the constitutional review group which concluded that the Constitution should not confer personal justifiable rights to freedom from poverty or to other economic or social entitlements. The group regarded these as being essentially political matters which should be the responsibility of elected representatives to address and determine in a democracy.