Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations. At the outset, I would like to declare that I am tourism service provider in the Wicklow area. As such, I have an understanding of the importance of Airbnb and other platforms to the tourism industry. They are a vital part of the industry.

In terms of this discussion, we need to focus on the impact of short-term lettings on the housing crisis. In this regard, we need to drill down into the statistics on short lettings to determine the number of short-term lettings of premises on an almost full-time basis. No one has an issue with people letting out a room in their own house or letting out their home for a time when they are on holidays as neither of these practices has an influence on the housing crisis. What is having an impact on the housing crisis is owners of multiple properties letting their properties on a short-term basis throughout the year. What work is being undertaken by Dublin City Council or the Department to determine what proportion of the 6,700 apartments or houses in Dublin are being let on a short-term basis over a lengthy timeframe? That is where we need to focus our attention, including from a planning and Revenue point of view.

It was mentioned earlier that the Department is looking at how other countries are dealing with this issue. We are all aware of the measures that have been introduced in London, Berlin, New York and Barcelona. In terms of the figures presented today, there is a significant increase in Airbnb and short-term letting in the tourism hotspots. According to the figures, 5,700 properties are based mainly in the Dublin city area. From the witnesses' point of view, how can we get to where I believe we need to be from a housing crisis point of view? As I said, there are other issues involved in terms of planning and Revenue, but in terms of the committee's focus today, the housing crisis, we need to get to the people who are letting their properties on a short-term basis over a lengthy timeframe.