Monitoring adequate housing in Ireland

This report seeks to monitor the right to adequate housing in Ireland by providing a baseline measurement framework consisting of six key dimensions: access to housing; housing affordability; security; cultural adequacy; housing quality; and location, access to services and local environment. Such an approach follows on from the ESRI/IHREC report on Monitoring decent work in Ireland published earlier this year.

By monitoring a particular economic, social or cultural right across a set of selected dimensions, reports such as these can provide a baseline on the progression, and regression in this instance, on the right to adequate housing.

While there is international and national legislation prohibiting discrimination relating to housing it is our view that the right to adequate housing should be enshrined in the Constitution. This is particularly important as we move into a recovery phase following the COVID-19 pandemic and the lifting of the emergency tenancy protection policy measures that were temporarily enacted during this time. A rights-based approach to housing not only acknowledges that housing is more than bricks and mortar: it combats inequality in housing which is pervasive across the Irish housing sector. Adequate housing allows all members of society to not only survive but thrive and achieve their full potential, whilst leading to a more just, inclusive and sustainable society.