Mr. Terry Sheridan:

These new arrangements are going to be supplemented by new planning guidelines. In the 2019 legislation because the arrangements only apply to rent pressure zones, there is a general presumption that they will not apply to short-term lets in rural communities and in non-rent pressure zone areas. That was the approach we adopted in 2019 in tackling and trying to address accommodation shortages in the areas of greatest housing need. As I mentioned, we will supplement the legislation with new planning guidelines that are still being considered and developed, but we are cognisant of the potential impacts on rural communities. It is quite likely that there will be greater flexibility in enabling properties in rural areas and small rural communities to continue in operation. Local authorities will probably have to take account of different factors in different areas, depending on whether they are urban or rural. I do not foresee the problems the Deputy has outlined in this regard in being able to obtain planning permission.

He also mentioned corporate- and executive-type lets. Again, we exempted these types of properties from the provisions in the 2019 legislation.

We took the view that they did not entail not short-term stays in the normal transient tourism sense. People such as those on a contract with a multinational for a short-term period would be living in the accommodation almost on a semi-resident basis, visiting shops, restaurants and all the other local facilities. Again, this can be examined further.