Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach said that he understands the challenges faced by businesses. I could question that because he is part of the Government that raised VAT from 9% to 13.5%. That was not evidence of understanding the challenges businesses are experiencing. I am talking about a completely different matter. The Taoiseach referred to regulation. Those in the Airbnb sector are not afraid of regulation. They understand that regulation has to be put in place. However, if this requires planning, for many of these homes that have been providing an excellent tourism service throughout the country, west Cork included, it will mean that the people involved may have to spend tens of thousands of euro that they cannot afford to spend on their homes. That is where the issue lies. They are not afraid of regulation. They are not afraid to sit down around the table and put things right and make sure everything is in order. They do have a concern, however, about the planning regulation that may be involved in this. If this goes ahead the way it is being reported, it is going to wipe out Airbnb services throughout west Cork and other places. That is the concern. They are not afraid of regulation or of making changes to provide clarity going forward. What they are worried about is the planning regulation. If the planning regulation comes in, it is going to put them out of business. That is where they feel this is going.

See this speech in context