Mr. Derek Nolan:

I am grateful for the opportunity to address the committee. I am joined by Amanda Cupples.

This is important work. The proposed legislation under consideration will impact on thousands of Irish families who host on Airbnb and communities in every corner of Ireland that benefit from the guests they welcome. I thought it might be useful to outline the two issues that I see as requiring the committee's focus, namely, the European considerations in setting up a national online registration system for short-term lettings and the concerns expressed about the impact on hosts of registration combined with new planning rules.

On the European considerations, Airbnb supports the need for all hosts to register. This means that Airbnb will work co-operatively with Fáilte Ireland in the provision of appropriate information and the removal of non-compliant listings from our platform, but the relevant provisions of the legislation to achieve those aims will need to comply with European law in order that Ireland will be compliant with its obligations as a member state. In our written submission, which is detailed, we offer solutions to those provisions of the general scheme that appear not to comply with European law. The committee should also be aware of impending European regulation in this space, namely, the EU proposal on short-term rentals. Airbnb has been advocating for an EU solution for several years to provide legal clarity to platforms when it comes to the sharing of personal host data with local and national authorities. Given that there is now a proposal on the table in Brussels and that Ireland is directly involved in those legislative discussions at EU level, we recommend the Government focus on building an EU-level framework that can help inform national policy decisions on short-term rental data-sharing. Of course, this EU proposal will not alter the ability of the Oireachtas to legislate in respect of short-term rentals. When the Oireachtas does act, however, it should clearly act in a way that aligns - and where possible anticipates, rather than conflicts - with EU legislation and ongoing policy discussions.

The second issue, which relates to permission to provide short-term letting, is clearly complex. Recent headlines and commentary have created a lot of fear and anxiety among our host community and, indeed, the broader tourism sector. I understand members of the committee have been contacted by people, as I have, about their concerns. In that light, I thought it might be useful to give some sense of the kind of people who host on our platform. The majority of hosts on Airbnb in Ireland are everyday families who rely on Airbnb for additional income. On average, these hosts share their primary home for just three nights a month, and among those who share an entire home, almost nine in every ten share only one listing. One quarter of Irish hosts are more than 60 years of age and work in either education, healthcare or hospitality. The typical Irish host earns just over €5,600 a year, or the equivalent of two months' additional pay for the median Irish household. More than half of hosts in Ireland say they host to meet the rising cost of living, and more than one third say the additional income helps them make ends meet. In my letter to the committee, I offered to facilitate direct engagement by the committee with members of our host community. I think this would be a useful endeavour in understanding at first hand the people impacted by reform in this area.

Hosting does not just benefit individual hosts; it has a significant positive economic benefit throughout Ireland. Upcoming independent research from Oxford Economics, commissioned by Airbnb and producing data we shared with the committee, highlights home-sharing as a pillar of the tourism economy. The research found that Airbnb activities had supported more than 4,800 jobs in Ireland in 2022, with Airbnb-linked spending representing 10.5% of all international tourism-related spending. It is not just in Dublin. Hosts on Airbnb have dispersed economic value to all regions, making a significant economic contribution in every county. In Kerry, for example, Airbnb-linked tourism spending in 2022 amounted to €65 million, supporting 456 jobs. In my home county, Galway, the figures were €63 million, supporting 830 jobs, and in Cork, they were €52 million, supporting 411 jobs. It is clear that in communities throughout the country, small businesses from pet farms to pubs and cafés to craft shops all benefit from the presence of hosts and guests. As Housing for All states, the purpose of registration is to ensure “the availability of long-term residential accommodation, balanced with the needs of the tourism sector, as appropriate." Airbnb’s view is that clear and simple regulation can allow home-sharing to work for everyone, but regulation that makes it difficult or expensive to host will risk preventing families and communities from accessing income they cannot afford to lose.

It seems the heart of this debate centres on the proposed new planning rules, which I understand have yet to be finalised. I respectfully suggest to the committee that this legislation should be considered in tandem with those rules in order that the committee will be aware not just of how the technical aspects of registration will work but also of the impact it will have on hosts and communities throughout the country for whom short-term lettings matter so much. Ireland is a tourism economy. We have been for generations, and I know Members will want to protect that as much as possible, as all stakeholders do. We are grateful for the opportunity to be here and I wish the committee well in the important task ahead. We will be happy to answer any questions they may have.