
A HOME OF YOUR OWN
01. Vision
A Home of Your Own
Sinn Féin believes that everyone should have a home of their own. A home is not just a roof over your head. It is fundamental to the wellbeing of people, families, communities, public service delivery, the economy, and the nation.
Sinn Féin believes that everybody should have the right to secure, adequate and affordable homes.
We are committed to bringing homeownership back within reach for working people.
Secure, adequate & affordable
A secure home is one where you feel safe, which is built to proper standards and where you have long term security of tenure.
An adequate home is one that meets your needs in terms of size, space, light, accessibility, proximity to work and support networks and culture.
An affordable home is one where your housing costs are a reasonable percentage of your disposable income.
Whether you own your own home, rent in the private rental sector, or live in public housing, your home should be safe, adequate, and affordable.
A balanced housing system
Sinn Féin’s long term objective is to see the housing system rebalanced with a greater emphasis on not-for-profit public housing to meet social and affordable need. At present the housing system in the State is overly weighted to the private market, with 84% of all housing ‘private for profit’, (66% owner occupier and 18% private rental) and just 10% constituting social housing.
This would mean having a long-term objective of increasing the portion of non-market public housing to 30% of the housing system. In Government, we would also rebalance private housing output in favour of owner occupation with the aim of halting the decline in home ownership. Home ownership would rise through the increased provision of private purchase and affordable homes for purchase.
There would also be an increase in the volume of social and affordable cost rental homes. In turn the private rental sector would become a smaller portion of the overall housing system. Such a distribution would not only ensure the housing system properly meets people’s housing need. It would also ensure the system is better able to absorb cyclical disruption from the private market. The table below outlines how the provision of housing has changed in the State.
Table 1: Housing Provision 1991 to 2022
The role of Government
The role of Government is not to promote one form of tenure over another. Rather its role should be to ensure that through the delivery of public housing and the regulation and activation of private housing there is a sufficient supply of secure, adequate, and affordable homes to meet society’s needs.
In the first instance, the role of Government is to deliver a sufficient volume of public homes to meet social and affordable housing need. Government must also, through positive progressive regulation of the private sector, activate builders and developers to deliver large volumes of high-quality private homes to rent and buy at fair prices.
Housing & Climate Change
The built environment – what, how and where we build – is the fourth largest emitter of carbon, after energy, transport, and agriculture. We must dramatically reduce the volume of embodied carbon across all forms of development if we are to meet our Paris Agreement carbon emission reduction targets and the States own legally binding sectoral emissions reduction targets.
Government has a responsibility, through planning legislation, building regulations, construction product surveillance and public procurement, to ensure that housing is delivered in a manner that meets and where possible exceeds our emissions reduction targets in the built environment. This means greater use of vacant and derelict homes and buildings and a clear and credible transition to low and in turn net zero building materials and processes.
A Constitutional Right to a Home
Sinn Féin believes that having a home of your own is a fundamental human right. It is our view that such a right, subject to approval by the people, should be enshrined into the Constitution.
Enshrining such a right into the Constitution has four main values:
- It would clarify the balance of rights in the constitution with respect to property rights and the right to a home.
- It would place a legal obligation on Government to vindicate the right over time through legislation, policy implementation, and budgetary funding.
- A successful referendum would create an expectation of action among the public and be a catalyst for change in housing policy and delivery.
- It would provide those most excluded from the housing system with a legally enforceable right.
The Eighth Report of the Convention on the Constitution dealing with Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was published in March 2014. The Convention voted by a majority of 85% that, in principle, the Constitution be amended to strengthen the protection of Economic, Social and Cultural rights. A majority of 59% voted that the State shall progressively realise Economic, Social and Cultural rights, subject to maximum available resources and that this duty is cognisable by the Court. When asked specifically about inserting the right to housing into the Constitution a majority of 84% voted in favour. In July 2023, the Housing Commission recommended a proposed amendment to the Constitution providing for access to adequate housing in the Constitution.
Following consultation with the Oireachtas, the Housing Commission and others, Sinn Féin would publish draft legislation, which following pre-legislative scrutiny, would be put to the people within 12 months of Government formation.
Conclusion
Housing is Sinn Féin’s number one priority. Meeting society’s housing need requires ambition, determination, and political will. It also requires change. Change to the Constitution, to the State’s laws, and to Government’s policies and budgets. Sinn Féin is committed to driving this change to ensure that everyone person and every family has a secure, adequate, and affordable home of their own. We are committed to making housing affordable and bringing home ownership within reach for working people.
A Home of Your Own - Sinn Féin's Housing Plan
Sinn Féin has a plan to make housing affordable and to bring homeownership within reach of working people. Sinn Féin will transform housing in Ireland, from how we think and plan homes, the communities they are part of, to how we build homes. We will ensure that everyone has a home, their own front door.