Senator Malcolm Byrne has called for one young woman and one young man, both under the age of 35, to be appointed to the Housing Commission, the government body examining issues relating to housing policy.
Acknowledging that while the Commission has already been working on a number of issues since its establishment last year, Senator Byrne pointed out,
“The remit of the Commission is to look at the long-term impact of housing policy and yet the group most impacted directly by those policies is not at the discussion table.”
He noted,
“There are many excellent individuals on the Housing Commission, but the key demographic impacted by the current crisis is young people and there is nobody under 35 on the Commission.”
Senator Byrne suggested a short open competition, managed by the National Youth Council of Ireland or an independent agency, where young people could set out their interest and expertise in housing policy and that two could be chosen and appointed within weeks.
“There are many young people with good knowledge of housing policy as well as with direct personal experience. They want to make a positive contribution and I think that this should be recognised. We need all the best ideas and experiences to help address the housing challenge.”