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LAST UPDATE | 15 Apr
THE DELAYED SHORT-TERM letting legislation was before Cabinet today where ministers approved the next steps in drafting the new scheme.
The Journal reported last week that the bill was taken off the agenda ahead of last Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting amid concerns raised by some ministers that more work was needed on legislation.
Ministers were also unhappy with the manner in which the general scheme of the bill was presented, with some stating that they didn’t have time to read it before it was put before them at the meeting.
It was agreed at last week’s meeting that the majority of items for the Cabinet agenda must be flagged the previous Friday.
Children’s Minister and Kerry TD Norma Foley is understood to have raised some concerns last week about the regulations, which will ban planning permissions for short-term lets, such as Airbnb, in towns of more than 10,000 people.
However, despite concerns raised, a population marker of 10,000 remains.
Speaking after Cabinet today, Foley said she wished “we weren’t in this space”, stating that she comes from a “tourism county”. She said the new rules obviously present a particular challenge for those from her area.
“But I also accept that we are in the midst of a housing crisis, which is a priority for government to tackle, from a housing point of view,” she told reporters.
The new legislation will make its way through the Dáil, she said, stating that there will be “opportunities for further discussion” on the issues. “It’s a matter of getting the balance,” said the minister.
A number of Kerry councillors spoke to The Journal about the impacts on tourism and what the new law might have on the area.
However, it is understood that the Government is feeling the pressure when it comes to taking action, with the Tánaiste stating that the whole debate over the issue has gone on for too long.
Burke told his parliamentary party last week that housing was the greatest challenge facing the country and the legislation was an important measure to balance the needs of our tourism sector and the housing needs of thousands of people across the country.
The minister said 20,000 homes are being rented on Airbnb currently.
He said the legislation would not ban Airbnb but would free up homes for young people to rent, highlighting that the government’s biggest priority was housing and it was essential that every minister took steps to address the crisis.
Speaking today after Cabinet, Burke said no substantial changes were made to the plans in the last seven days, voicing his frustration with the delay in signing off on the proposals last week.
“It’s important that we work right across Government to ensure that we do get a balance,” he said.
“We have a unique, very strong housing challenge and it’s critical that we are moving every single lever in government to respond to that.”
The housing minister told The Journal last week that it is a case of having to prioritise housing in the midst of a crisis.
A statement from the Department of Housing said the short-term let register will, for the first time, provide full oversight of tourism accommodation in Ireland with a register of all accommodation types, which from a public policy perspective will be of great benefit to tourism.
The spokesperson added that the establishment of the register will also assist local authorities with the enforcement of planning requirements for short-term lets, which are already set out in law.
“This will see a reduction in available tourism accommodation. However, an appropriate balance must be achieved between the needs of the tourism sector and the long term housing market,” said the department spokesperson.
The Department of Housing will set out guidelines in the form of a National Planning Statement on short-term letting to supplement the introduction of the new legislation on short-term lets.
This will “provide clarity and certainty on the planning requirements in respect of short-term letting properties to ensure that property owners have a clear understanding of planning requirements well in advance of the final enactment,” said the department.
The new regulations are due to come into effect in May 2026.
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