‘Ireland cannot deliver homes without cutting EU red tape’

Fine Gael MEP Regina Doherty has warned that Ireland will continue to fall further behind on housing unless critical infrastructure projects are fast-tracked and EU red tape is torn down.

As Vice Chair of the European Parliament’s Housing Committee, Ms Doherty said reducing bureaucracy will be a key recommendation in the Committee’s forthcoming report to the

European Commission.

She said:

“Builders are ready, but our country is being held back because the infrastructure is not in place.

“You cannot build homes without water, drainage, transport and energy to support them.

Right now, those projects are being strangled by red tape at both national and European level.

Families are paying the price. If we are serious about tackling Ireland’s housing crisis, we have to rip up the bureaucracy that is paralysing progress.”

Pointing to the Greater Dublin Drainage Project, Ms Doherty said the scale of delay is unacceptable:

“That project has already spent seven years stuck in the planning system and is now facing another judicial review that could push it back for years more.”

She backed Fine Gael TD James Geoghegan’s call for emergency legislation to fast-track vital projects:

“James Geoghegan is right that the time for pleas is over. Ireland once delivered major projects

like Ardnacrusha and Poulaphouca because the State acted with urgency and conviction.

“We need that same spirit now.

“The Taoiseach has asked the Attorney General to examine bespoke legislation, and I fully support that.

“We cannot allow vested interests and endless objections to hold the country hostage while families are left without homes.

“Ireland is ready to build. Our builders are ready to build. What is missing is the infrastructure

and the courage to clear the roadblocks. Brussels must cut the paperwork, and at home, we

must be ready to use emergency legislation when projects are delayed for years. Families

cannot wait. The time for action is now.”