Ó Ríordáin hired to EU housing committee

Dublin MEP Aodhán Ó Ríordáin has been nominated as a member of the newly established European Parliament Housing Committee.

The Housing Committee was created as part of negotiations that saw Ursula Von Der Leyen re-named as Commissioner last year, with the committee itself being headed up by Danish Social Democrat Dan Jorgensen.

The Labour MEP said he was “honoured by the trust my colleagues in the Socialists and Democrats Group have placed in me by nominating me to this important committee.”

“Since my election to the European Parliament, addressing our housing crisis with a European dimension has been a top priority for me,” he said.

Taking part in our pre-election questionnaire, Ó Ríordáin said “housing has to become central to the European agenda.”

“EU spending rules prevent our councils from adequately funding public housing. They favour investment funds over people in need of homes. This affects people across Europe and it needs to change,” he said last May.

Ó Ríordáin joins fellow Dublin MEP Regina Doherty on the committee.

Doherty will serve as vice-chair of the new Committee, with Doherty saying “the people of Dublin made it loud and clear to me during the elections that they wanted Europe to do more on housing.”

“The role as Vice Chair will enable me to ensure that Europe delivers concrete and actionable solutions to the housing challenges we face in Ireland.”

Discussing his appointment to the committee, Ó Ríordáin said “toogether with my S&D colleagues, we have successfully secured an EU Commissioner for Housing, a position now held by fellow Social Democrat Dan Jørgensen, and established a dedicated housing committee. I am delighted to continue this vital work as a member of the committee.”

“The housing crisis affects countries across Europe, but Ireland is widely recognised as one of the member states hardest hit by this multi-faceted issue.”

The latest figures published by the Department of Housing show that over 15,000 people avail of homeless services in Ireland, with over 10,000 of those in Dublin alone.

That figure only counts for people who are officially registered with the Department Of Housing and the homelessness services they provide, and does not include “invisible homelessness” which involves people sleeping on couches or in cars.

Ó Ríordáin said the new housing committee will “examine key areas where the EU can play a role, including economic and state aid rules, social policies, and the built environment, with a focus on climate considerations.”

“I am particularly committed to highlighting the issue of homelessness. Today, nearly 5,000 children in Ireland are homeless—a figure that is intolerable and reflects successive governments’ failure to address this crisis effectively.”

In an interview with this publication last November, Ó Ríordáin emphasised that he wanted to make the European Union project “more tangible” to the average Dublin voter.

The Housing Committee will operate as a “special committee” of the European Parliament, with an initial 12-month mandate. 

The aim of the committee is to produce what they call a “comprehensive report” with recommendations for the European Commission on how to tackle Europe’s housing crisis.

Ó Ríordáin joins fellow Dublin MEP Barry Andrews in securing a high-profile brief; last year, the Fianna Fáil MEP was elected as chair of the European Parliament’s Development Committee.

Andrews’ appointment marked the first time since 1987 that an Irish MEP was named as chair of a standing committee in the European Parliament.