19 September 2002 Edition
Housing should be a Constitutional right
Sinn Féin spokesperson on Environment and Local Government, Arthur Morgan, has welcomed the findings of a survey conducted by the Simon Communities which found that 71% of the electorate endorsed the right to housing to be enshrined in the 26-County Constitution.
"The vast majority believe that housing is the responsibility of government and that by enshrining it in the Constitution, they believe governments will be compelled to tackle what is a growing crisis," said Morgan. "Sinn Féin supports this view and believes that everybody has a right to housing.
"For too long now the government has tried to wash its hands of this responsibility and has left underfunded local authorities to pick up the pieces. It is not good enough. People must be offered the protection of the Constitution and the government must be made accountable for providing what should be a fundamental right. For too long it has been the speculators and private developers that have benefited from government initiatives. It is time to give everybody in our society access to adequate housing, not just the rich and wealthy."
"The vast majority believe that housing is the responsibility of government and that by enshrining it in the Constitution, they believe governments will be compelled to tackle what is a growing crisis," said Morgan. "Sinn Féin supports this view and believes that everybody has a right to housing.
"For too long now the government has tried to wash its hands of this responsibility and has left underfunded local authorities to pick up the pieces. It is not good enough. People must be offered the protection of the Constitution and the government must be made accountable for providing what should be a fundamental right. For too long it has been the speculators and private developers that have benefited from government initiatives. It is time to give everybody in our society access to adequate housing, not just the rich and wealthy."