Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to pick up on the point made by Deputy Casey. We spend a lot of time in this committee talking about the need to regulate the platforms. I do not have the same level of anxiety as Deputy Casey. We can pass this legislation comfortably if we are of a mind to do so, and then go forward with broader regulations for short-term letting platforms. It is really important to do that. There is an array of information that platforms have which would be very important for local authorities in the enforcement of their planning function. If there were a statutory obligation on the short-term letting platforms to share that information with local authorities, it would make the job of the latter much easier. It would be a relatively easy thing to do. Likewise, one of the concerns we expressed at this committee - it is contained in the report - relates to the need for the platforms to share that information with Revenue. Again, it would make Revenue's job much easier in terms of tax compliance. There is also the issue of platforms, either knowingly or unknowingly, advertising properties that are not in compliance with the law. The advertising of properties for long-term letting that are substandard and do not meet regulation was debated in the Seanad yesterday. We have a 90-day planning permission requirement in law. If I am a host but I do not have planning permission and Airbnb knows that I am now letting my property out for more than 90 days, there should not only be a legal obligation on the host but also on the platform. It should be sanctioned in cases where it is advertising properties that are not in line with the legislation. Responsibility for those regulations should rest with the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government because they are much more like the regulation of the private rental sector. I am not seeking that those regulations be inserted into this Bill; that must be done as it is. The regulations that I would like to see for the platforms have to be in that kind of space, and responsibility in that regard should lie with the Minister's Department.

Even in the context of an almost blanket refusal for non-principle residences in Dublin, a huge administrative burden will be placed on Dublin City Council and other councils. I know that some organising work is already under way. What information can the Minister provide in order to assure us that the local authorities, which will have to deal with this very significant administrative burden, will have all of the resources they need to deal with the applications so that there will be no delay? Have additional resources been assigned? Have the local authorities asked for additional resources? Can the Minister share that information? He announced last September that this would commence in June . Is that still his intention, or does he now intend to alter the timeline given the delay in bringing forward the legislation today?