Minister for Housing Darragh O'Brien has published the Housing Commission's report in full, alongside a report on proposed wording for a referendum on housing.
The minister received a report from the commission in relation to proposed wording for a referendum on housing last June.
The proposed wording to amend article 40a is as follows:
- The State recognises that having a home is of fundamental importance to quality of life and that access to adequate housing, by facilitating the development of family, social and community relationships, promotes the common good.
- The State therefore guarantees to every citizen a right of access to adequate housing and pledges, as far as practicable, by its laws to protect and vindicate that right".
This report on the proposed wording will now be referred to the Oireachtas Committee on Housing and to the Attorney General.
An inter-departmental group will also be convened to develop policy recommendations for Government.
The commission's full report extends to over 200 pages in length.
Commenting on its publication, Mr O'Brien said: "As would be expected, not everything in the reports released today is accepted or agreed and a full analysis will be required before actions are taken.
"65 of the 83 actions, or 78% of the recommendations are already implemented, under way or partially under way. There is much more work to be done and the work published today will contribute to a robust and informed policy debate and will certainly inform the direction of housing strategy into the future."
Among its findings is that housing affordability is most difficult for first-time-buyers in the counties of Dublin, Wicklow and Kerry, based on median incomes and house prices.
The Housing Commission has called for a stand-alone Social Housing Act, to protect the sector and prevent privatisation.
The expert body also finds that social housing supports, such as the Housing Assistant Payment, can inadvertently amplify rent inflation.
It calls for barriers affecting the delivery of social housing to be removed, by reforming funding approval and procurement procedures.
It says housing affordability schemes should be carefully calibrated to reflect factors such as income distribution and regional price differences.
However, it says there is no evidence that a more generous Help-to-Buy scheme for first time buyers would have an inflationary impact.
Among its main findings was that Ireland has an underlying housing deficit of up to 256,000 homes.
The commissions 83 recommendations were the subject of Dáil debate yesterday.
Challenging report - Taoiseach
The report has been described as challenging for the Government, the opposition and for policy makers in general by the Taoiseach.
Speaking in the Dáil during Leaders' Questions, the Sinn Féin Leader said the report is damning in its criticism of Government policy.
Mary Lou McDonald told the Dáil that it found too many people are in emergency State-funded short-term rentals.
The €10 billion spent to keep tenants in that situation should have been used to build tens of thousands of homes, she said.
Taoiseach Simon Harris said steps had to be taken "in the here and now" to help people and this includes the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS.)
He said the scheme was previously praised by Sinn Féin TD Dessie Ellis, who believed it could help people dig their way out of the poverty trap.
