Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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I have had enough of that story. Housing is one problem and tourism is another problem; they are two separate issues. The whole thing has gone wrong by trying to mix one up with the other and blame one for the other. The planners in Kerry County Council have clearly stated to anyone who inquired that it will not grant permission to enable people to apply. No one has a bother about being registered but when they inquired about actually going for the planning permission, they were told they would not get it in certain places, including Killarney town. I heard Mr. Ó Lionáin speak about the treatment of areas where more tourists go. I will just name one place. Gneevgullia has about three short-term lets through Airbnb or whatever. They were providing income to the local shop - the shop has gone now, by the way - and to the couple of pubs that were there. They were providing income to the post office and whatever. Now they have been told they will not get permission. Do they not have statutory rights when they have done this for more than seven years? Many people are at it for the past 20 or 22 years. It is wrong to think that to help one part of our community we must hurt another. Can we not deal with the housing issue separately and allow you to deal with tourism? This is very unfair. It is it fair to limit tourism to certain people? At the same time, 38% of hotel rooms in Killarney are taken up by the unfortunate people from Ukraine.

There are no other empty beds to accommodate them since they came here to, so it is there they will have to stay. Does that not jeopardise our tourism sector? We are only a week on from St. Patrick's Day and there is a scarcity of beds in Killarney. At the same time, there is a move to limit Airbnb operators and other short-term lets and to say they must let long term. How can that be fair?