Ministerial meeting on Combatting Homelessness and meeting of the members of the European Platform on Combatting Homelessness (EPOCH)

Topics

Housing Social policies Social inclusion

When?

25 November 2026 - 27 November 2026

Where?

Dublin, Ireland

Event type

In-person

Organised by

Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

As part of the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage hosts a meeting of EU Ministers to discuss homelessness. This meeting offers an opportunity for Ministers to come together to discuss and develop proactive policies to combat homelessness at a European level.

Event background

As part of the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage hosts a meeting of EU Ministers to discuss homelessnessopens in new tab. This meeting offers an opportunity for Ministers to come together to discuss and develop proactive policies to combat homelessness at a European level.

For the first time, Ministers with responsibility for homelessness and housing, meet to discuss shared priorities, including key elements of the EU Affordable housing Planopens in new tab (published in December 2025), with a focus housing exclusion to support vulnerable persons in precarious housing situations and to prevent and address homelessness.

The event also brings together representatives from members of the European Platform on Combatting Homelessnessopens in new tab (EPOCH), created following the Lisbon conference in 2021, and other experts and associations actively involved in combatting homelessness.

In addition, the EU Affordable Housing Plan included a goal to 'propose a Council recommendation on fighting housing exclusion to support vulnerable persons in precarious housing situations and to prevent and address homelessness'. This initiative is presented in the context of the forthcoming Anti-Poverty Strategy and builds upon the work of the EPOCH.

Marie Hyland, presents at one of the event workshops, highlighting Eurofound’s research on different housing systems across the 27 Member States.

See:

Speakers

Marie Hyland

Research officer

Social policies research

Marie Hyland joined Eurofound as a research officer in the Social Policies unit in 2023. Her research focuses on issues related to housing, the social implications of the green transition and the socioeconomic situations of vulnerable groups. Prior to joining Eurofound, Marie spent several years as an economist at the World Bank, where her research covered women’s employment and economic empowerment, private sector development and the economics of climate change. Marie holds a PhD in Economics from Trinity College Dublin. During her PhD studies, she was a visiting Fulbright scholar at the University of Maryland.

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