Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations. I am conscious that the working group is in place and has not come back with its report yet, but I have concerns over An Bord Pleanála's decision. I am concerned in turn about the likes of Airbnb and the need for a register. Have Airbnb and other such companies been informed of An Bord Pleanála's decision? Surely, the decision affects virtually every house. When houses were being built and even up until now, it is not being taken into account that houses that are being built might need some kind of additional permission. Has this been taken into account? Have Airbnb and all similar companies been informed that they could be in breach as a result of some of the properties they are using? I would love to know whether any action is to be taken on that. I believe there needs to be a register and people need to be signed up. The working group is probably looking at this idea.

I am also conscious that many people are renting out rooms in their own houses. They have mortgages. I do not think many of these people are registered or paying taxes on their rental income, etc. They are just trying to clear mortgages. Whether we like it or not, that is the reality on the ground. If it is the case that there is a decision that states that one should have to apply for permission from An Bord Pleanála, many of these people are in breach in many ways.

I also wish to ask the witnesses about student accommodation. We are seeing an awful lot of people getting permission to build student accommodation at present and there are huge numbers of applications. Is there a means these people can use, an equivalent of Airbnb, during times when the student accommodation is not occupied? Is this an avenue the working group is looking at? I am not sure whether space is available in such accommodation. I know that some of the student accommodation, particularly around DCU, with which I am more familiar, tends to be utilised during the off season as much as during term time, but there are cases in which it very much depends on the time of the year the college or otherwise is occupied. I am curious as to whether there is any scope to look at this. Are there pressure areas in the likes of Dublin City Council where these short-term lettings will have a huge impact? Are the witnesses considering this idea where there might be a concentration of these companies coming in and trying to get short-term lettings in very high-demand spots? If this is the case, it obviously has an impact on the likes of hotels because in many ways it is a way of undercutting hotels. Is what the hotel is doing in breach of any legislation in terms of the process it must go through and Airbnb? Other European countries are probably more familiar with this; we are probably relatively new to this compared to others. I am curious about those questions.