THE FIRST EVER plan dedicated entirely to housing for the entire EU has been passed by MEPs, with promises to make it easier to build and to encourage investment for local councils.

The measures include increasing funding to local councils so they can build housing and attempts to discourage the surge in short-term lets in tourist hotspots across the bloc.

There are also ambitions that might sound familiar to anyone following the Irish government’s actions, as it includes proposals to simplify the planning process for housing in a bid to speed up development.

The vote passed by 367 votes to 166, with 84 abstentions among the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

Europe’s housing crisis can no longer be ignored.

Today the European Parliament approved our housing plan.

Cut red tape.
Unlock investment.
Build more homes.@eppgroup @FineGael pic.twitter.com/hWEOYv39KE

— Regina Doherty MEP (@ReginaDo) March 10, 2026

The proposals will now be sent to the European Commission and join a separate housing plan launched by the EU’s first Housing Commissioner late last year.

But support for the measures is far from unanimous, with Irish MEPs who sit in The Left political grouping among those expressing unhappiness, blasting them as a “love letter” to developers.

Labour MEP Aodhán Ó Ríordáin was involved in negotiations for the report. File photo Sasko Lazarov / RollingNews Sasko Lazarov / RollingNews / RollingNews

Labour MEP for Dublin Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, who led negotiations for the Socialists and Democrats Group for the report, argued that the report “represents a breakthrough” in how to approach the housing crisis.

Rather than leaving it to individual member states only to tackle, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin said that it recognises that housing affordability, tenant protection and homelessness are European challenges.

“For too long people were told the European Union could not – and should not – act on housing,” Ó Ríordáin said.

“It sends a clear message that the EU must respond to the civil rights issue of our generation.”

Ó Ríordáin added that the report makes clear that public authorities need the resources to act, meaning investment for local authorities to build more homes.

Planning and developer proposals

As well as backing streamlining of planning processes, the report also wants to improve access to financing for housing development, particularly for smaller developers, including through institutions such as the European Investment Bank.

Dublin Fine Gael MEP Regina Doherty – who sat on the EU’s special housing committee that devised the report – said this measure was needed as rules are often “overly complex”, with developers also facing barriers accessing finance.

Fine Gael MEP for Dublin Regina Doherty speaking in Strasbourg today. Christian CREUTZ Christian CREUTZ

Doherty outlined how the plan calls for a ‘Housing Simplification Package’ aimed at cutting bureaucracy and shortening the permitting procedures for projects across Europe.

“If we want to tackle the housing crisis, we have to make it easier to build,” Doherty said.

Criticism of report

In a statement from The Left group, it criticised the larger groupings for voting down amendments calling for protections such as a European Winter Eviction Moratorium.

Speaking from Strasbourg, Sinn Féin MEP Kathleen Funchion claimed the proposals follow “Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael into pro-developer policy that will only contribute to a longer crisis” for the EU.

“The report calls for cutting regulation, lowering taxes for construction, and supporting the private sector in a vain attempt to build our way out of the housing crisis,” the Ireland South TD said.

Sinn Féin MEP Kathleen Funchion Alexis HAULOT Alexis HAULOT

Funchion added that the report mentions financialisation and speculation by investors and developers “only in passing”, while ensuring that “EU fiscal and state aid rules, which have been conveniently dropped for militarisation, are maintained for housing”.

“The report calls for cutting regulation, lowering taxes for construction, and supporting the private sector in a vain attempt to build our way out of the housing crisis,” Funchion said.

Fellow Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan said the plan was “little more than a love letter” to the construction industry.

The Dublin MEP added:

“The best approach the EU could take is to step back from housing, recognise it as a national issue, and remove EU level rules that interfere with public investment in housing and tackling short-term lets rather than once again supporting developers and landowners.”