Sir, – Jessica Freed (Letters, September 1st) is right about one thing that should be beyond argument: Ireland’s housing crisis is causing real misery. People unable to find somewhere to live, families trapped in unsuitable accommodation and young adults unable to establish independent lives deserve compassion, as well as a government that treats the provision of housing as an urgent national priority.
But I have to part company with her when she argues that “secure and affordable housing is not a privilege but a human right”.
A home is certainly a basic human need, but an “affordable” home is not necessarily a right.
Rights create obligations – if housing is an absolute right, who is obliged to provide it and at whose expense? And what happens when the demand for that right exceeds the resources available to meet it?
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Would this “right” not dilute the responsibility of an individual to make adequate provision for their future? Could they sue the State for failing to make this provision? Compassion should never mean eliminating personal responsibility.
Of course, none of this excuses governments from acting – quite the opposite. A decent and compassionate society should do everything reasonably possible to ensure that people on modest incomes, families, the elderly, people with disabilities and those facing circumstances beyond their control are not condemned to homelessness.
We do need more housing, sensible planning, better use of State land, an effective rental sector and legislation that encourages rather than punishes those willing to provide homes.
However, once something becomes a right, someone else must carry the corresponding obligation – the State cannot simply legislate to guarantee everyone a home at a price they personally regard as affordable.
Without doubt, housing is a fundamental human need, and it deserves compassion, good government and serious investment. But there is a world of difference between saying that everyone deserves the opportunity to secure a home and saying that everyone has an enforceable right to an affordable one.
Perhaps a more productive ambition is not to promise everyone an affordable house, but to build a society in which as few people as possible are unable to afford one. – Yours, etc,
GEOFF SCARGILL
Bray,
Co Wicklow.
