Dublin councillors have lashed out at comments from Tánaiste Simon Harris in which he said many people in Ireland’s emergency homeless accommodation system don’t have a right to housing in this country. At yesterday’s monthly council meeting, elected representatives passed a motion calling his assertion “baseless” and accusing him of attempting to “scapegoat and demonise migrants” for the housing crisis. "[Simon Harris] has never met a problem that he won’t blame on someone else, and now he’s pointing the finger at migrants. "That is simply the way it should be.”A separate motion on Dublin City Council recognising housing as a human right, introduced by Social Democrats councillor Lesley Byrne, was also passed by councillors yesterday. DCC is also requested to write to the Department of Housing requesting a referendum on inserting the right to housing into the Constitution.

Source: Irish Independent January 13, 2026 21:43 UTC