Mr. Earnán Ó Cléirigh:

As stated by Senator Boyhan, there is agreement around the issues are and what needs to be done. We are conscious, as I am sure is Dublin City Council, the remit of which, in terms of the Dublin area, is broader than that of the Department, of the balance to be met between the economic benefits of short-term letting in terms of broader economic issues and the tourism sector and the potential negative impacts on housing. As I said, these are not substitutes for each other. In other words, the benefits that derive from a more vibrant tourism economy do not necessarily accrue to people who lose out arising from problems in the housing sector.

I agree that the problem is not limited to Airbnb. I listed a few of the other providers. There are more. I have heard there are up to 15 online providers. There are also a number of providers that are not online and have been operating in this area for some time. In regard to the memorandum of understanding, MOU, it is not the Department's strategy for dealing with this issue. It has come about because of the willingness and the desire of Airbnb to engage on this issue because it acknowledges the problem arising has implications for its operations. We are engaging with Airbnb. If we do reach an agreement with it, we will use that as a basis for similar sorts of arrangements with other providers. However, that is independent of the working group which is chaired by the Department. It is examining the issue not from the point of agreements with individual providers but from the point of view of an overall regulatory framework and approach to planning for and management of the sector.

In terms of what is going on in other jurisdictions, this is currently the focus of the working group. It is interesting to note what is happening in other places. Mostly, this issue is dealt with city by city. What the jurisdictions have opted to put in place varies according to their particular issues. As stated by Deputy Casey, the reaction differs in areas where there are high levels of tourism versus areas where there are serious housing problems. Typically, what we are seeing is registration of short-term rental providers. Of the actual registration of hosts, multiple listings in many places are not permitted and listings that are not in the principal private residence are not permitted. By "not permitted" I mean they require other approval. They are considered to be commercial activity rather than short-term letting on a home-sharing basis.

Another issue is nights booked limits, which relates to the point about what is happening in London, and the licensing of the platforms. In some jurisdictions, platforms such as Airbnb are licensed. The manner in which they operate and the information they provide to planning authorities and government can be controlled through that licensing arrangement. For example, in some jurisdictions Airbnb is only allowed to facilitate people who are registered providers or licensed providers. In other jurisdictions, such as Barcelona, enforcement is very tough. There is a huge effort there now to crack down on unlicensed provision.

The working group will be looking at all these issues. At the end of the day, we need an approach that is driven from a policy perspective, the priority being protecting accommodation in the rental sector and the housing system, and based on data and evidence, although that evidence is not easy to collect. As information is power, that information is not readily available. The approach taken will also need to be specific to the specific context. In other words, it will be different in practice and reality in Dublin from what it will be in a rural area. I am sure Dublin City Council can provide some information on the question of what proportion of hosts are letting multiple properties as compared with those who are letting single properties.