Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Certainly. I will not go back over the history of the matter because the Deputy will know when everything was published and so on. On 21 December, the proposed Bill was submitted to the European Commission pursuant to the technical regulations information system. As the Deputy will know, a standstill was put in place. Officials from my Department, Fáilte Ireland and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage met with representatives of the European Commission on 23 June. This meeting facilitated greater clarification as to the provisions proposed by the short-term letting Bill and the EU short-term rental, STR, proposals. On Friday, 8 September, the Department of housing issued draft general guiding principles on short-term letting to the committee and to my Department. The most recent development occurred on 15 November. As the Deputy will know, the European Parliament and Council reached a provisional political agreement on the EU proposal. It is understood that the proposal could be endorsed and formally adopted by both institutions by the end of the year or early in 2024. There will be further technical meetings concerning the implementation of this new regulation, in which officials from my Department and Fáilte Ireland will continue to participate. My Department will also engage further with the Commission on the alignment of Ireland's proposed Bill with the EU proposal. A positive response from the EU by the end of the standstill period, which is 22 December, and clarity on the EU regulations should allow the legislative process to commence early in 2024. That is the hope.