John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senators who made contributions. I am deputising for the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy. I will try to address some of the specific issues which were raised. I have made a list of the questions I cannot answer directly and I will try to get responses to them.

As I am sure we can all agree, home sharing fulfils an important and valuable contribution in terms of tourism in our economy, as well as providing a valuable source of income for home-owners. Home sharing where the dwelling involved is the permanent or long-term residence of a person or family does not reduce the number of residential units available in the economy. The Government wants to enable responsible home sharing in ways that do not affect the availability of long-term residential rental properties.

As the Minister, Deputy Murphy, stated earlier, the aim is to facilitate the short-term letting of accommodation within permanent residences while protecting the existing stock of residential property in areas of high demand, safeguarding neighbourhood amenity and consumer protection and generating revenue to address negative externalities of short-term letting, to which Senator Humphreys referred.

The short-term lettings market caters to a distinct market which otherwise would not be served. Short-term lettings typically cater for people who fall outside of normal hotel customers, including those looking for a more local experience and, in some cases, those with lower incomes. It is important that such visitors to Ireland are catered for and not be denied this experience due to an overly restrictive regulatory regime.

Any proposed licensing regime must have cognisance of the relevant local effects short-term letting can have on a community. Naturally, where a rent pressure zone is in place, it may be desirable to try to curtail the number of entire properties availing of the short-term letting market. Conversely, in areas where there are vacant properties and low demand for rental accommodation, there is potential for a licensing regime to encourage short-term letting, thus incentivising tourism activity and provided a source of income for vacant property owners.

We have planning laws and will make sure they are enforced properly. As a first step, the working group has developed guidance for local authorities in regard to the appropriate approach for planning decisions related to short-term lettings and a circular in this regard was issued to all local authorities last month. The working group is now working on proposals for an appropriate comprehensive regulatory approach for short-term tourist related lettings and the identification of any necessary amendments to legislation required to give effect to such regulation. The guidance circular is not expected, or intended, to resolve all the issues related to short-term letting. The broader licensing and regulatory approach on which the working group is developing proposals will provide the comprehensive framework to do this.

I note the recommendations in the report proposing a review of the current planning regulations and, in particular, the proposal to introduce specific exemptions from the need to obtain planning permission in cases where short-term lettings do not exceed a certain day limit in a year. Planning control and regulation is one important element of the broader issues being considered by the Department’s working group. The group will report before year end on the appropriate regulatory approach for short-term lettings and any necessary amendments to existing legislation, including planning legislation, which may be required. The working group’s report will also be informed by the useful and timely joint committee report and its recommendations which we are discussing.It is important to note that the Planning Act provides that exemptions from the requirement to obtain planning permission in respect of specific forms of development may be provided for when they are considered to be consistent with proper planning and sustainable development. This is a key test for any proposed planning exemption. In addition, as required under the Planning Act, any proposed amendments to the existing exempted development regulations require approval from both Houses of the Oireachtas before new regulations can be signed into law and brought into effect. Therefore, we will revert to both Houses with any proposed amendments to the planning code and, specifically, the exempted development provisions that may be required on foot of the working group’s report.

Under the Planning Act, all development, including a material change of use, unless specifically exempted under the Act or associated regulations, requires planning permission. Any development that is carried out without planning permission or that does not comply with the terms of a planning permission is unauthorised development and may be subject to enforcement action by a planning authority. Responsibility for enforcement action in regard to any breach of the planning code is a matter for individual planning authorities and extensive enforcement provisions are provided for in Part 8 of the Act. However, the Department issues periodic reminders and guidance to planning authorities on planning enforcement generally. In May 2013, a ministerial policy directive was issued to all planning authorities, reminding them of their statutory obligations under Part 8 of the Act relating to enforcement. The directive required that planning authorities ensure that sufficient and appropriate human resources are made available for enforcement purposes. It also required planning authorities to undertake appropriate monitoring of planning enforcement and directed them to prioritise large-scale unauthorised development and enforcement cases.

On planning enforcement related to the issue at hand, the Department has issued two departmental circulars to planning authorities, in December 2016 and October 2017, which, among other things, advise them to take a proactive approach to enforcement, particularly to ensure that short-term letting activity is in compliance with the existing planning code. In addition, the Department will be requesting planning authorities to provide information on their enforcement activity in this particular area and on a periodic basis going forward.

Any proposed regulation or licensing regime must be easy to use. The average home owner providing a short-term letting facility will not be doing so on a large scale. They simply wish to earn some extra money to help with the mortgage or some other expense or perhaps to have their property occupied while they are away themselves. This needs to be encouraged, not impeded. The application process needs to be straightforward, with the administrative burden on both the homesharer and the State kept to the minimum necessary to ensure compliance and the protection and safety of consumers.

The point Senator Humphreys makes is a valid one. I know parts of Dublin city that have changed in recent years and there are districts of the city with quite a number of short-term lets. I accept the Senator and others have said we have had too many reports. This report is due before the end of the year. To ensure we introduce regulations that do not have other knock-on effects, I believe we can wait the three or four weeks until that report is finished.