Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The proposed registration of short-term tourist letting Bill will not change existing planning permission requirements regarding short-term lets. The planning permission side is the responsibility of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. I know this is an issue that was raised with officials from that Department by members of this committee. The main issue seemed to be around the need for clear planning guidance to ensure that the short-term lets are dealt with sensibly, in particular in rural areas. That is what Deputy O'Sullivan is indicating in what he has shared with me. That is also what the Department of the Minister for Housing Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, is cognisant of. The Department gave a commitment that it would issue new planning guidelines to planning authorities to assist them in adopting a sensible approach. I am very cognisant of what the Deputy says about rural areas.

On engagement, when the general scheme of the registration of short-term tourist letting Bill was published before Christmas, briefings were held with the key tourism stakeholders and major online platforms. Since then, Fáilte Ireland has arranged more than 30 briefings. My Department met with the Irish Self Catering Federation last week. The focus of that meeting was the federation's concerns regarding the planning regulations for short-term letting. It is something that was also raised with me and the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Coveney, when we co-chaired the tourism and hospitality forum last week. My Department is committed to convening a round-table meeting with key stakeholders next week, which will include the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.