Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am very pleased to hear that changes are imminent. We are talking about next week, which is to be welcomed. No one wanted to rush the fences on this issue either. I, too, am a fan of home sharing and there is a role for it. People travel differently and we have issues as well whereby we need to ensure that people can visit and experience Ireland. First and foremost, however, we need to make sure that in the midst of a housing crisis we are not losing properties and stock to the hospitality sector and that we prevent excessive profiteering in this regard as well, which has been taking place. There have been interesting decisions made by a couple of bodies including Fingal County Council, Dublin City Council and An Bord Pleanála about the type of zoning that would be required for properties that are being used solely for short-term letting right through the year. Such activity should be seen as a commercial enterprise, not a residential one.

I look forward very much to the Minister's announcement next week. I hope it is as close to the joint committee's recommendations as possible. We all will want to work together to make sure this makes an impact very quickly. It is an important part of resolving parts of our supply issue in the residential market.

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