The country's Catholic religious orders have said that only land owned by local authorities should be allowed by law to be rezoned.
In a submission to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution, the Conference of Religious in Ireland (CORI) also calls on the government to recognise the right of all citizens to appropriate accommodation.
In its submission, CORI's Justice Commission says the right to private property carries with it a social responsibility.
The submission states that making exorbitant profits through land speculation connected with housing development is particularly morally questionable.
Pointing out that the social housing list is now reaching crisis proportion, CORI have proposed a new law to tackle this that would confine rezoning of land to those lands owned by local authorities.
