I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to discuss my question about short-term lettings. I was speaking to a number of business owners in County Limerick, small landlords who let out their properties on a short-term basis. It is my understanding that a register of short-term rental properties, especially those for tourists, is to be established and it will be run by Fáilte Ireland. I understand planning regulations have to be followed. Some of these businesses have been in operation for a long time. They talk about a "grandfather clause" where they have been in operation for over seven years. What will happen to the short-term letting properties that tourists stay in when using Airbnb? There are many small business owners who have such properties, which are their only source of income. They are afraid their building may not meet the criteria or there will be a delay in obtaining planning permission. Will the Minister of State make a statement on that?

I thank Senator Byrne for raising this matter in the House. Action 7.16 of Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030 states that the Government will:

Introduce increased regulation of the Short-Term Letting sector by: introducing a Short Term Letting and Tourism Bill; and a National Planning Statement will provide guidance for local authorities when deciding on planning applications for short-term lets.

On 1 July 2019, planning legislative reforms to regulate the short-term letting sector came into effect as an amendment to the Planning and Development Act 2000 and the 2001 regulations. These regulations provided that, where a person owns a property which is not their principal private residence and intends to let it for short-term letting purposes, they are required to apply for a change of use planning permission, unless the property already has a specific planning permission to be used for tourism or short-term letting purposes.

Approval was received from the Government on 15 April 2025 for a threshold-based approach to generally preclude new planning permissions for short-term lets in larger towns and cities with a population in excess of 20,000 at the most recent census of population, subject to Cabinet approval. It is intended that accommodation providers in all other locations, that is, outside the largest towns and cities, will have an extended period to meet planning compliance requirements. In line with existing established rights, where it can be proven that a residential property has been operated by a short-term letting accommodation provider for at least seven years and no enforcement action has been taken by the planning authority, planning permission for retention may be sought to regularise an established but unauthorised use.

To give effect to the agreed policy framework approach, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is finalising a national planning statement, under section 25 of the Planning and Development Act 2024, for short-term letting activity to supplement and support the introduction of the short-term letting and tourism Bill.

The national planning statement will ensure there is a clear view both at national and local authority level as to the overall policy approach to determining planning applications for short-term lets. National planning statements replaced section 28 ministerial guidance and require the approval of Government. They are intended to provide consistent national planning policies that all regional and local authorities must follow. This will ensure better alignment with Government priorities and more effective delivery of housing and infrastructure throughout the country.

I am glad people who are in this business for a long time are being looked at. Once they can prove that they are in the business for over seven years, while they have to apply for retention, it looks like it should be favourable for people. I know the Minister of State cannot comment on that. However, it is a way of dealing with people in this kind of short-term letting over a long time. There was that fear factor and people did not know what their futures held, so I appreciate the Minister of State's answer.

I appreciate the concerns in the sector among those who have been operating in this space for quite some time. I have a number of them in my constituency, as I am sure the Senator does in Limerick. The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment has published the general scheme of short term letting and tourism Bill which will establish that register to be managed by Fáilte Ireland. It is the intention that the national planning statement will assist local authorities by providing clarity, as I outlined in my original response, that areas with populations of up to 20,000 will, in general, be looked upon in a favourable manner, subject to conditions, of course, while in areas with populations above 20,000, in general they will not be facilitated, subject as well to a number of conditions. We are working on finalising that national planning statement within our Department. The Department of enterprise is progressing the legislation through the committee to try to ensure we have this in place as quickly as possible.