Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

There are still no effective rent controls or taxes on landbanking. Airbnb is making the housing crisis worse and operates in a strange place legally. Last year, An Bord Pleanála upheld a Dublin City Council ruling that an apartment owner in Temple Bar needed to apply for planning permission if the owner wanted to continue renting the property out via Airbnb. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, promised to address the issue. In August, there were 4,931 Airbnb listings in the city area, the bulk of all Dublin region listings. By February, that number had increased to 6,729, or 36%. It seems that having long-term tenants is a mug's game these days. One man recently told RTE that he was subletting 40 rooms on Airbnb after renting them from landlords around Dublin and that it was a lucrative business. The apartment at the centre of the An Bord Pleanála case reportedly made €79,000 in one year.

This is a criminal development in the middle of the housing crisis. Starting this month, home owners in central Barcelona are only permitted to rent out one place on Airbnb. How is the Department getting on with its plans in this regard?

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