Homelessness charity Focus Ireland is calling for a referendum to put the 'right to a home' in the constitution.
It's one of five election demands launched by the organisation aimed at ending homelessness.
The charity's also looking for 40,000 social homes and reform of the rent supplement system.
The charity's calling on voters to email the demands to their local candidates.
Roughan McNamara of Focus Ireland says the parties have underestimated voters feeelings on this housing issue:
Focus Ireland's Five Election Demands
1. Will you look for the incoming Government to make a renewed commitment to ending long-term homelessness and the need to sleep rough and set a target date for achieving this? There is a record total of over 5,000 people homeless in Ireland. The vast majority are in emergency accommodation such as hostels or hotels with a small number sleeping rough.
2. Will you insist that the incoming Government has a programme to build at least 40,000 social houses over its lifetime?A record total of 100,000 households are on social housing waiting lists nationwide. That is one in every 16 households who are in need of social housing.
3. Will you support holding a referendum on the ‘right to a home’ within the first three years of the next Government?
4. Will you look for the incoming Government to have a realistic and effective plan to end family homelessness?This will require new measures to prevent families losing their homes and improved measures to help those who are already homeless. There are over 1600 children in more than 700 families who are homeless in Ireland. Many are trapped in hotels or bed and breakfasts in one room with their children. This will require a complete overhaul of the Rent Supplement system. Families are becoming homeless mostly for economic reasons. Many more households are also struggling to pay their rent or mortgage each month.
5. Will you insist that the incoming Government commit to ending the youth homelessness trap? Over 500 young people are trapped in emergency homeless accommodation, with a social welfare rate too low to provide them with a proper home and unable to get a job or training because they are homeless.
