Cowen makes EU call for "tangible solutions" to housing crisis

Fianna Fáil MEP for the Midlands North-West, Barry Cowen, has called on the European Parliament’s Special Committee on the Housing Crisis (HOUS) to prioritise tangible solutions to Europe’s housing crisis over further diagnosis.

Speaking at a joint hearing of the HOUS and Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) Committees, MEP Cowen said the EU must now use its legislative and financial levers to boost delivery, not just debate policy.

The hearing, which focused on housing rights, tenant protections and homelessness, brought together MEPs and housing experts from across the EU.

MEP Cowen, who serves on the HOUS Committee, stressed the need to turn institutional recognition of the housing emergency into actionable outcomes.

The Fianna Fáil MEP pointed to the limitations of current EU fiscal rules, which treat Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) in countries such as Ireland as public entities and count their borrowing against Member State debt levels.

He argued that removing AHBs from national balance sheets would significantly expand delivery capacity, not just in Ireland but across multiple Member States.

“We all recognise the housing pressures that exist in every Member State. But recognition alone is not enough. The European Parliament’s new housing committee must be more than a forum for diagnosis – it must be a driver of delivery.

“EU rules can either enable or obstruct housing progress. In Ireland, the current classification of AHBs under fiscal rules is capping what can be built. Taking these bodies off the balance sheet would unlock thousands of homes. The same is true elsewhere.

“In the years ahead, our work will be judged not by how many hearings we held, but by how many homes were delivered. I want us to be able to say we helped solve Europe’s housing crisis – not just talked about it," MEP Cowen said.