5th September 2022
The Housing Commission has invited submissions on whether there should be a referendum on the introduction of a constitutional
amendment regarding housing, and, if so, what form such a constitutional amendment might take.
The IPOA is pleased to be given the opportunity to make a submission to the Commission on this key debate on behalf of its membership.
A housing referendum will simply allow future governments the opportunity to pass the proverbial buck by failing to provide a comprehensive, cohesive housing strategy for all the country’s citizens, that will encompass sustainable living in an environmentally friendly fashion.
Aspiring home owners, particularly those on average incomes, have seen their ambition thwarted by a number of factors – the financialisation of housing on a global basis; a lack of supply leading to continually increasing house prices; over-zealous mortgage lending rules; a turgid planning process and a failure to support SME builders.
All aspects of housing need to be brought together to bring in a suite of sensible measures and stop the ever-growing level of piecemeal initiatives and regulations that have had adverse consequences such as the flood of private non-institutional landlords leaving the market.
A referendum on housing rights, likely to centre on a right to adequate housing is not the solution to the ills of the housing market. Government needs to draw all actors in the housing sector together to advance a sustainable residential model for all its citizens. A housing referendum will not advance such proposals but will become a lightning rod for further state inaction on the issue and lead to greater inequality.
Click HERE for full submission