2026-06-16

141. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment to update the house on the short-term letting Bill 2025 coming from his Department. [45285/26]

I thank the Deputy for this very important question. In April last year, I obtained Government approval for the general scheme of the short-term letting and tourism Bill. Once enacted, this Bill will provide a statutory framework for regulating the short-term letting sector, including the establishment of a national register. This register, which has been broadly welcomed by the tourism sector, will be implemented and managed by Fáilte Ireland in compliance with the EU short-term rental regulation. The register will launch on 1 December 2026, with a legal obligation on all operators to register by 31 December 2026. The new housing policy for short-term let activity was set out today at Cabinet by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy James Browne, in a national planning statement. The statement provides a balanced framework that supports sustainable tourism, protects communities, maintains housing supply and enables clear, consistent decision-making for both property owners and planners. The new housing policy restricts the approval of new planning permissions for short-term lets in cities and larger towns with a population of over 20,000 in the last census. However, planning permission for short-term letting can be granted to preserve heritage or traditional buildings unsuitable for the long-term housing market. Upper floors in mixed-use buildings or small structures beside an owner-occupied home can also be approved, provided neighbours are not adversely affected. Permission will generally be favoured where a dwelling has been used continuously for short-term letting for at least seven years without enforcement action, in line with established use rights. A simplified administrative version of the application process for retention specifically for short-term lets will be introduced. Short-term let accommodation providers in towns with a population of less than 20,000 have two years to meet planning compliance and additional provisions are being included in the Bill to give effect to this measure. This work will be completed shortly. I intend to bring the Bill to Government in the coming weeks to seek approval for publication, and to advance the Bill to enactment by early autumn.

I ask the Minister to give confidence to the sector - the long-established self-catering operators who have been operating legally for many years - that they will not be forced out of business as a consequence of the new short-term letting regulations?

I know the Deputy has done a lot of work on this matter. In towns with a population of less than 20,000 in areas of the south and west coast where it is not viable to build a hotel and where short-term lets for tourism are needed, we will have a simplified administrative process for providers who have been in operation for more than seven years. We have issued a planning statement which will have a presumption for those operators to be granted planning. It will be a simplified process and there will be a presumption they will be granted planning to ensure they can continue in operation. As Minister, I want to see short-term lets continue in areas where they are needed, such as the west coast and the south. Kerry is a prime example, as are counties Mayo, Leitrim and Longford and rural County Galway. There are areas that need short-term lets to absorb the capacity because there is no hotel accommodation available. We will also bring forward an accommodation strategy this year to try to incentivise the growth of high-quality hotel accommodation as well, which will be another weapon in our armoury.

I thank the Minister. I know his heart is in the right place on this matter, which is the reason I am asking him the questions. What communications has he had on the national planning statement? Will the statement be made available for consultation with stakeholders before implementation? What would the Minister like to see in it?

I have had significant negotiations with the Minister, Deputy James Browne, to achieve a balance. Obviously, it is critical that we have accommodation in our cities, where there is acute pressure on housing units - we are in a housing crisis - and that those units are made available for wider society. Equally, in areas where the tourism sector is very important, and tourism drives economic activity in rural Ireland, it is important that short-term lets that have already been in operation are able to continue. The planning statement will be published and it will state that there will be a presumption of planning to be approved on all short-term lets in areas with a population of less than 20,000. There will be a simplified application process for such operators to go through and there will be a two-year window for them to regularise once the register comes into operation.

Deputy Healy-Rae can follow up with the Minister in writing.