Two-thirds of voters back the insertion of a right to housing into the Constitution, according to the latest Irish Times/Ipsos B&A opinion poll.
Fewer than a third of voters think the Government is making progress on housing, the poll finds.
Just 17 per cent of voters say they believe the Government is making progress, 28 per cent believe progress has stalled and half of all voters (50 per cent) believe the country’s problems are getting worse.
The idea of a constitutional right to housing enjoys broad backing across supporters of different parties. Two-thirds (67 per cent) of all voters favour the measure, with 23 per cent opposed. Least enthusiastic are Fine Gael voters but even here a majority of those who express a view are in favour, by 48 per cent to 41 per cent against.
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Opposition parties support calls for the insertion of a right to housing in the Constitution, and Sinn Féin has promised it would organise a referendum to insert a legally enforceable right within a year of taking office.
Voters favour measures that will increase housing supply even if there are downsides. More than four in five voters (81 per cent) say they want the Government to build more social housing, even if there are local objections. Almost two-thirds (64 per cent) say they would support measures that benefit landlords if they led to more houses and apartments being made available for rent.
Despite the prominence of the housing issue in politics, only a minority of people (29 per cent) say they are “personally affected” by the housing crisis. Seven out of 10 (70 per cent) say they are not directly affected.
Given a choice between spending and saving Ireland’s large budget surplus, voters favour spending it, with just 29 per cent saying the Government should save it, and 64 per cent in favour of spending it.
[ Analysis: Public somewhat sceptical of Government’s claims of progress on housing crisis ]
When it comes to the question of change in the way the country is run, 40 per cent say they favour “radical change”, a five-point increase since the last time the question was asked in November 2024. Just over half, 51 per cent, say they want “moderate change” while 6 per cent say they are “wary of change” – a decline of five points.
The poll was conducted among a representative sample of adults aged 18 years and upwards across 120 sampling points throughout all constituencies.
Personal in-home interviewing took place between January 30th and February 3rd. There were 1,200 interviews conducted and the accuracy is estimated at plus or minus 2.8 per cent.
[ Analysis: Clear impatience among voters on housing crisis, with action rather caution desired ]
