TWO IRISH MEPS have been appointed as vice chairs to the EU’s special committee on housing.

Fine Gael’s Regina Doherty and Independent Ireland’s Ciaran Mullooly were confirmed as vice-chairs at the first meeting in Brussels this afternoon. The group of over 30 lawmakers are tasked with analysing the European housing market for one year.

While housing policy is outside of the EU’s remit of control, lawmakers this term recognised the need for political action to be taken at a European level after it was determined that there’s a continent-wide crisis.

The report will provide analysis and recommendations to the newly appointed European Housing Commissioner who will then move to introduce guidance to member states on how to monitor and regulate their housing market.

Speaking to The Journal after the meeting this evening, Doherty said it was her hope that she, and fellow Irish MEP Mullooly, can bring the country’s issues to the forefront of the debate in Europe through the committee.

She said that while many European countries are dealing with shortages in housing and have very different markets, the committee will allow the Irish politicians to get expert advice on the problems facing prospective buyers here.

“I want to see tangible recommendations that can be fulfilled by the European Commission,” Doherty said, adding that she hopes her vice-chair position will allow her to steer the direction of the committee so that it is not a “talk shop”.

Closer to home, a report published today by construction consultants Mitchell McDermott said the government could miss their housing target again - and only hit 35,000 new builds – in 2025.

Doherty said the committee should be focusing on the need to cut costs for builders, while delivering and insuring that houses are affordable. Alamy Alamy

The estimate is based on a wide range of projections from the three main housing types – scheme housing (estates), one-off homes and apartments – and the figures from last year.

Doherty said the projection was “not surprising”, as the report indicated that the leading issue facing the delivery of new homes is increased costs in construction. 

She said that there must be a focus on upskilling and recruitment in the construction industry, admitting that Ireland currently does not have the workforce for its 2030 target of 300,000 new homes.

“If we don’t finish them, then there is something else wrong,” she said, adding that “throughput” on recruitment must remain consistent for the government’s term.

The Dublin MEP said she is still confident Ireland will fulfil its 2025 housing targets set by the government, of which her party is a partner in, and took confidence in the commencement figures for the start of this year – totalling over 60,000.

Some MEPs, such as the committee’s chair, left-wing Italian MEP Irene Tinagli, want there to be a people-centred approach. Doherty agreed, but added that there must also be a focus on how to cut costs for builders and developers.

She said that those in the construction industry cannot be daubed with a “black brush” and that parliamentarians must recognise that inflation rates are increasing.

Mullooly said that he wants to find practical solutions to Ireland’s housing crisis. His party has promoted the increased use of modular and temporary housing arrangements as a medium-term solution to a short housing stock.

The Midlands North West MEP said he hopes the committee will help towards fixing many of the same housing issues that are happening at European level. He will meet constituents in Navan, Co Meath to speak with those impacted next month.

“We need answers that work for families and communities,” he said.

Tinagli told reporters in Brussels today that she would like the committee to have a people-centred approach to their report and place less of a focus on the ‘market’.

“The problem is different in EU countries but the problem is common,” she said, adding that the group would like to explore what the European institutions can do to make housing more affordable for families.

So far, the chair said, the group has been presented with “very worrying data” about the affordability of housing in Europe, leading to increased levels of impoverishment.

European political groups will meet to discuss what witnesses to invite to come before the committee in the coming weeks.