Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the fact that the short-term letting market is to be regulated. The lack of regulation has exacerbated the housing crisis and is in contrast to the norm in other countries. This is a step forward. However, I have issues with the proposals. On balance, it would be best if the proposals were to apply across the board nationally and not just in the rent pressure zones. Having said that, let us focus on what will happen in those zones. It has been common practice recently to look at the Airbnb website in respect of a given town and at daft.iein respect of the same place in order to show that the number of properties advertised for short-term let outnumber those being offered for long-term rental lease. Sometimes, it is not even close and the ratio is 2:1 or even 3:1. The stated purpose of the Bill is to tackle that situation. According to the associated frequently asked questions list, the current situation has resulted in some professional landlords withdrawing houses or apartments that would normally be rented on a long-term basis to instead rent them out as short-term lets. It is indicated that the purpose of the Bill is to tackle that and reverse it to get that situation sorted out. If the legislation is designed to do a particular job, it would make sense to provide for a review after the lapse of a certain period of time to determine whether that particular job has been done. Is there a proposal to come back to this after a set period, be it six, 12 months or 18 months, to see if the legislation has worked and, if it has not, to determine what steps we need to take to strengthen these measures and take them further?

A matter which has been raised already but on which I would like more information is the resources that will be allocated to local authorities to ensure the new rules and regulations are, in large measure at least, being followed. Will we have a situation in which changes are implemented which it is difficult to oversee or police or will the resources be allocated to local authorities? What specific steps are being taken in that regard?