On 22 January 2020, MLRC were delighted to take part in the launch of a broad new coalition of organisations and individuals called ‘Home for Good’. The group aims to ensure that our next Government commits to a referendum on the right to housing which would re-balance the Constitution and provide a basic floor of protection for those most in need in our society.
Home for Good believes that safe and secure housing must be recognised as a fundamental human necessity; it can and must be properly protected in our Constitution and in doing so, truly recognises that a home is central to the dignity of each and every person and a foundation of every person’s life. At the launch, the group called for a national conversation ahead of a referendum to amend the Constitution to better protect the common good by recognising the right to safe and secure housing for all.
MLRC spoke at the launch and were joined by Fergus Finlay, former CEO of Barnardos and Senator Collette Kelleher. The launched was chaired by the then chair of Home for Good, Ann Fitzgerald BL.
Other members of the coalition who were also present at the launch included the Simon Communities of Ireland, Focus Ireland, Respond, Threshold, Dr Rory Hearne from NUI Maynooth and the Fórsa trade union.
At the event, MLRC noted that there are many gaps in the housing system: one of the most glaring being a gap in legal protection. Legal protection of safe and secure housing will fill a void in the housing system, help to address the current housing crisis, and safeguard against a recurrence of a similar crisis in the future. Moving forward in 2020, MLRC will continue to advocate strongly for legal and policy changes on the right to housing.
