Housing vote may not be held during thisgovernment

The Taoiseach has said he is unsure whether a referendum on the right to housing can be held within the lifespan of the current government.

Leo Varadkar said the constitution should be amended to enshrine a right to housing, but he said achieving the correct wording of any amendment was crucial.

A commission set up by Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien has been tasked with making recommendations on constitutional reform, but it has yet to agree a proposal wording for a potential constitutional amendment.

The coalition committed to holding a referendum on housing in its programme for government.

“I believe we should have an amendment to our constitution to establish a right to housing,” Mr Varadkar told reporters in Co Louth on Friday.

“What’s absolutely crucial to me, though, is that the wording is correct.

“Any housing amendment worth having must make it easier to build houses.

“That’s my fundamental position on this.

“So for example, at the moment you’ll see judges striking down planning permissions for new homes in the courts.

“I want a housing amendment that allows them to say ‘well, yes, maybe there was a technical error here, maybe there’s some issue, but now there is a right to housing and that tips the balance in favour of more homes being built’.

“What I don’t want is an amendment that results in no extra houses being built but ends up in a situation whereby we’ve people will stay on the housing list seeking compensation or suing the local authority.

“Because what will happen then is there’ll be no extra houses, but the housing budget will be diverted to legal fees and paying damages and compensation and that’s definitely not in the public interest.

“So the wording is crucial. The acid test for me is will this amendment make it easier to build new homes across the country for our people? That’s what it should be about, not about legal fees and compensation.” Asked would the referendum be held within the current government term, he said: “That I don’t know, I haven’t seen any draft wording yet. So I can’t say that at this stage.” Mr Varadkar also said the Government remained committed to holding the referendum on general equality in November.

But the Taoiseach said he was aware of the view of Electoral Commission chief Art O’Leary that a proper information campaign in advance to the vote should last up to 16 weeks.

Mr Varadkar said he wanted to meet Mr O’Leary to discuss the issue with him.

“We’re still aiming to have the referendum on women and equality before the end of November, that’s the deadline that we’re working towards,” said the Taoiseach.

“But I do hear what the new chairman of the Electoral Commission Art O’Leary has said and I’m going to reach out to him and meet him in September and tease this through, as it is important that we get it right.

“When referendums are defeated, they’re often defeated because of campaigns of misinformation or extraneous issues being brought into play.

“And I’ve been that soldier a few times in the past, I have successfully got a lot of referendums through but lost a few that we shouldn’t have lost, and maybe wouldn’t have with better preparation.”