On the 14th of September 2021, a report was presented on Monitoring adequate housing in Ireland by the ESRI and the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC).
This report aims to monitor the right to adequate housing in Ireland by providing a baseline measurement framework consisting of six key dimensions: access to housing, housing affordability, safety, cultural adequacy, housing quality and location, access to services and the local environment. This report seeks to provide a baseline on the progression (or regression) on the right to adequate housing in Ireland.
In this report, the three authors Helen Russell, Ivan Privalko and Frances McGinnity call for the right to adequate housing to be enshrined in the Irish Constitution, noting that international and national legislation prohibiting discrimination in housing is insufficient to guarantee this right. They stress the particular importance of enshrining the right in the Constitution in the context of the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the lifting of the emergency tenancy protection measures that have been temporarily enacted during this period.
The report also highlights that a human rights approach to housing allows combating the housing inequality that is pervasive in the Irish housing sector. Adequate housing enables all members of society not only to survive but also to thrive and reach their full potential while leading to a more just, inclusive and sustainable society.
Read the full report here.
