Kevin Humphreys (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I very much support the efforts of the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Deputy Coveney, to speed up the supply and the announcement of the rapid-build housing. The Minister is talking about supplying 1,600 of them.

It was reported in The Sunday Timesat the weekend that the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, is to shut the door on tax reliefs for Airbnb. Airbnb-type businesses are having an enormous effect on the supply of housing, especially in urban areas, and it is estimated that we have lost between 1,500 and 2,000 units that were in the ordinary rental market to Airbnb-type accommodation. I suggest to the Leader of the House that he bring it to the attention of both Ministers that to shut the door on the tax relief for rental of rooms, while important for the student market, will not have the effect that we want in shutting the door on the transfer of units that are let long-term. Two or three months ago, five apartments in my area on the South Circular Road that were rented to ordinary people on rent allowance working in the Civil Service and other areas where transferred to Airbnb. Those are five units where the people had to leave. During the rounds of discussions with various lobby groups about what changes they want to see in the budget, one person pointed out to me that five apartments in the Smithfield area that were let long-term by tenants who were working in the city were transferred to short-term lets.

Both Ministers need to look at what is happening throughout the world in this regard. In Berlin, regulations are being brought in to control the number of units transferring to Airbnb accommodation. Only 50% of a flat in Berlin can be on a short-term lease. Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick are not alone in dealing with this problem. This is affecting Berlin, London and Seattle, to name but a few cities which are bringing in regulation and legislation to control it.

We are in a period of constrained supply. While I welcome the Minister's proposal to build 1,500 rapid-build units, if we lose 1,500 at the other end, it will not serve any purpose. I urge the Minister, Deputy Noonan, to look at this. He stated he would announce in the budget efforts to shut the door on tax relief on short-term lets, given the impact that is having on student accommodation. We also need to look at efforts to shut the door to ensure we do not see the transfer over to short-term lease of units currently being let in the market because that will make our housing situation far worse.