Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-28
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Micheál Martin (FF), Cork South-Central

First of all, no one is wiping anybody out in rural Ireland. It suits the Deputy to create a storm and to spread rumours saying the Government is going to do this and that. Let us get the background to this. Everyone in this House was agreed that housing was the number one priority, or at least I thought it was the number one priority, facing this Dáil at its commencement. The objective in terms of the short-term lets legislation is actually to get more houses back into the rental market. The policy decision we have taken, of which the Deputy is well aware, is that it relates to towns over 20,000, so that excludes straight away all of the western seaboard and the north western seaboard, all the way along. We are looking at towns and cities above 20,000 people.
Planning law is planning law and the seven-year rule is there. Basically if someone is operating an Airbnb for seven years he or she does not need planning permission. That is my understanding, my lay-person's articulation of it. Essentially, there would be great difficulty in enforcing anything at that stage. I am sure the Deputy would accept that. He is wily enough in terms of planning issues as they affect people so I am sure he will agree that is the position.
There is an EU directive governing this as well and that is governing all of Europe. In the cities we want less of the short-term lets and we want more housing because we need more housing for younger people. People are arguing about the rents being high and we need more supply. There is an issue there and the Deputy should acknowledge that. It is not a foolish idea. There is a logic behind it and there is a rationale behind it. The fundamental objective is to continue to support tourism in those areas where tourism is a key industry and that is all along the western seaboard, the south west, the west, the north west, along the east coast, the south east coast and so on. They are all well below the 20,000 threshold and the idea is to balance the need for long-term housing supply and greater housing availability while also protecting rural and regional tourism and jobs. The national register is to be compiled by Fáilte Éireann for short-term let providers. It is to be established by Fáilte Ireland. The issue is still being examined by Government in terms of the planning statement and so on and how to enable people to adjust to the situation and the policy position we have identified and announced.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-28/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:52+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-28