New government set to hold a referendum on a right to housing

Yellow_Fern

The parties have also committed to holding a referendum on each citizen’s right to housing. This will be first examined by a housing commission.

https://www.independent.ie/incoming/new-government-to-set-targets-for-ethnic-minorities-employed-in-public-service-39285140.html

The media are barely discussing it but there is a pledge to hold a referendum on housing. How does making a constitutional right to housing help anyone source a home? Weren't we told during the abortion referendum campaign that a constitution is no place for complex moral issues? Isn't that exactly what is providing housing to people in is? Very few countries have a right to housing. South Africa has such a right and does it help South Africa provide adequate housing? What grassroots Fine gael and Fianna Fail supporter wants this? Why is this getting on the document?

DubCount

This is pandering to the left-leaning media who love the idea of housing as a right. There is no consideration given to the "cant pay" and "wont pay" elements and no consideration to what a minimum housing right looks like. Does a right to housing mean a separate room of a minimum size for every child? Does a right to housing mean we can all choose the area we want to live in and whether we want an apartment or a house? Who pays for all this "free" housing and will the state build its own housing stock or fall back on a shrinking private rental market?

We should also have a right to food and should be able to wander into Tesco and take what we want without paying. In fact, lets just go all out communist and be done with it. That works really well !!

antimatterx

It's a nonsense referendum. If theres not enough houses at any one time, then you can't build them overnight.

Rodney Bathgate

Moronic

Mitch Connor

I'd love to know what they would think an implementation of it would be.

I can't see how anyone doesn't have the right to a house now - as far as I am aware there is law or statute that would deny the ability to buy or rent a house to someone.

I lived at home, I rented, then I bought. I had nothing put in place to stop me from doing those things, and i can't see how we can constitutionally go further than that.

I am all for the government and local authorities perusing a large range of measures to address the housing crisis - affordable housing, rent suplements, investing in local infrastructure to increase the viability of housing outside of major city centres, investment in decentralised job creation etc - i don't know that any of that needs a constitutional amendment.

At a base level, I would not vote for this, unless they come up with a very cohesive and expansive plan on what it would mean.

paulie13

Everyone already has the right to a house. It's called "working to achieve something". Jesus wept.

perfectkama

it works in Venezuela so it can work here too

Fred Cryton

From what i can see, the Greens basically adopted most of SF housing policies. The "Red" commie faction within the Greens led by Catherine Martin, are ideologically indistinguishable from the Shinners and the hard left.

It's a disgrace that FF and FG both agreed to such a stupid lefty populist move. No wonder Catherine Martin supports the deal!

Mitch Connor

perfectkama wrote: »

it works in Venezuela so it can work here too

What do they do in Venezuela, and is Venezuela a good place to point at? I know my work colleague and her family are trying very hard to get their mother and other family members out of the country at the moment because of the situation in the country (and this was back in Feb, before covid).

Rodney Bathgate

Mitch Connor wrote: »

What do they do in Venezuela, and is Venezuela a good place to point at? I know my work colleague and her family are trying very hard to get their mother and other family members out of the country at the moment because of the situation in the country (and this was back in Feb, before covid).

He was being sarcastic. Venezuela is widely considered to be a failed state thanks to the failed leftist policies of Chavez and Maduro.

DubCount

Fred Cryton wrote: »

From what i can see, the Greens basically adopted most of SF housing policies. The "Red" commie faction within the Greens led by Catherine Martin, are ideologically indistinguishable from the Shinners and the hard left.

It's a disgrace that FF and FG both agreed to such a stupid lefty populist move. No wonder Catherine Martin supports the deal!

That's harsh. Its the electorate (the Irish people) that voted in this selection of lefties. We have nobody to blame but ourselves.

perfectkama

Rodney Bathgate wrote: »

He was being sarcastic. Venezuela is widely considered to be a failed state thanks to the failed leftist policies of Chavez and Maduro.

I think we are well on the way our public service in starved of funding taxes running at an all time high and a continued blank cheque for SW.
But the people voted for it I have a relative working in the PS they vote green and they are on a sweet 6 figure salary damn sure anybody on social voted too who will pay? who cares?

Wanderer78

Haha people are so fcuking weird when it comes to these things, 'full blown communism', fcuk sake!

Gunmonkey

TBH kinda aligns with Gov treatment of landlords the past few years: most likely this will take the form of "you cant evict someone unless they have another house lined up" so landlords will be stuck with problem tenants/unpaid rents forever as tenants wont bother looking elsewhere as no negative to staying put and not paying rent and any action taken by the landlord would be cracked down on hard by the Gov.

More "if you dont like the way you are being treated, just sell up hurhur" nonsense shoved in landlords faces (even though the house would then be bought up by an investment/pension fund thrown back on the market at 3 times the price).

Caranica

Over 50% of any program for government fails to see the light of day. I wouldn't be getting too excited about this.

jrosen

Its not gonna happen. For a start social housing already exists, we have council housing effectively for life and we have rental supplements for everyone else. Those lists are already huge so adding volume to them makes no sense. The state cant build the houses quick enough for current numbers.

Yellow_Fern

Look all, contact your TDs and tell them that you are against this policy. TDs respond to pressure but these days they tend to hear more from twitter actvists than real people so tell your thoughts.

Smouse156

Yellow_Fern wrote: »

Look all, contact your TDs and tell them that you are against this policy. TDs respond to pressure but these days they tend to hear more from twitter actvists than real people so tell your thoughts.

What happened to the promised land referendum to cap the prices of the most over priced land in Europe?

Yellow_Fern

Smouse156 wrote: »

What happened to the promised land referendum to cap the prices of the most over priced land in Europe?

Sure, but I think we have to be careful not sleep walk into it. No is making arguments this in the media.