Mercy Law Resource Centre
cordially invites you to the
Launch of the Mercy Law Resource Centre
Second Right to Housing Report:
The Right to Housing in Comparative Perspective
Venue: Georgian Suite, Buswells Hotel, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2
Date: Wednesday 28th March 2018, 2pm – 4pm
Tea and coffee on arrival
The report will be formally launched by Dr Carol Coulter,
Director of the Child Care Law Reporting Project (CCLRP),
honorary Adjunct Professor in the School of Law, NUI Galway.
Professor Paddy Gray, Emeritus Professor at the University of Ulster,
will give an address on best practice in relation to the provision
of emergency accommodation in the UK.
The presentations will be followed by a Q&A discussion.
Please RSVP by Monday 26th of March by email to
Danielle Curtis: danielle@mercylaw.ie or 01 4537459
About Mercy Law Resource Centre’s Second Right to Housing Report: The Right to Housing in Comparative Perspective:
This report offers a comparative perspective on the right to housing. Through considering the legal systems of (i) Finland; (ii) Scotland; (iii) France; and (iv) South Africa, this report engages with well-ventilated arguments in Irish political discourse over legal protection of the right to housing. In doing so, we seek to offer a comparative perspective on the principled and practical concerns raised by proponents and opponents of a justiciable right to housing.
Our comparative analysis highlights that there are a wide variety of structural and institutional means by which the right can be guaranteed: there is no ‘one size fits all’ model. The variety of institutional means available to vindicate the right to housing demonstrates that concerns frequently expressed against economic and social rights – particularly separation of powers concerns – can be addressed. The simple fact is that guaranteeing the right to housing does not necessarily equate to a significantly increased constitutional role for the judiciary.
In terms of the efficacy of legal protection, our analysis suggests that a legally enforceable right to housing- while not a panacea- provides a valuable floor of protection. However, the experience of all the jurisdictions considered in this report also highlights that the effectiveness of the right to housing is heavily contingent on the existence of sufficient and enduring political will to vindicate such rights through difficult budgetary, policy, and legislative choices.
