Kevin Humphreys (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge Senators Coffey, O'Connor, Warfield and Bacik for their contributions to the debate. The legislation is targeted at the pressed middle, the people who go out in the morning and earn salaries of €35,000 to €40,000 and who cannot compete with the short-term let market. They are being driven demented by not being able to get accommodation for all the reasons the Minister of State has just outlined. I acknowledge there has been progress, but it is a sieve and it is leaking. We have been telling the Government it has been leaking for two years. There was an acknowledgement by the former Minister, Deputy Simon Coveney, when he set up the working group to examine it but it has gone on too long. We have been talking about it for almost two years. The report has been on the Minister's desk since earlier this year and nothing has happened. We have had three leaks to the media on what will happen but nothing has happened.

This is a nationwide problem. Mike Allen highlighted the impact short-term lets are having on families and individuals in Leitrim. I have been contacted by people in Ennis regarding the shortage of one-bedroom apartments and the fact that they cannot compete with short-term lets. I have also heard similar stories from Carlow. The issue, therefore, not only affects Dublin and Galway. It has been highlighted by me and many other parties that there is a problem. We are constantly building and putting additional units on the market but they are leaking out the other side. We have to put a stop to this quickly, which is why I am asking for regulation.

The Bill has been published for a long time and I have constantly spoken about it to the Minister of State, Deputy English. I recognise his engagement with the House on this matter. He has told me on several occasions the report was about to be published and that the Minister has a particular special interest in the sector, as he should because the area in which he lives is crippled by short-term lets and is quickly turning from a residential area into a tourist location. This is having an impact on long-standing families in the community who cannot compete. It is an area where people in the city normally rented.

The Minister of State mentioned the October 2015 circular. I do not know whether he is aware that since it issued, there has been a fall-off in enforcement notices. According to the statistics, there are more short-term lets but local authorities are issuing fewer enforcement notices. I am not being over-critical of local authorities because they do not have the power to enforce them on apartments. They have no power whatsoever in respect of homes because of the bed and breakfast legislation, which the Minister of State pointed out. I recall being told about unintentional consequences by my officials when I was in a similar circumstance to the Minister of State, and I used to ask them to explain in detail the unintentional circumstances to which they were referring. They often had trouble coming up with precise examples. I can give the Minister of State precise examples from throughout this city, Galway, Limerick and Cork of how this is affecting working families, the people who get up early in the morning and go to work whom the Taoiseach said he wanted to represent. Those who get up early and go to work are not able to compete with short-term lets.

Airbnb has been mentioned several times. I do not agree with the number of days it proposes. It wants to allow for up to 180 days, which is too many. However, the company wants legislation and clear guidance on operating in the market. It states a voluntary code will not work because its competitors will not abide by it.

We need speed on this. I am speaking honestly, and in accordance with new politics, I am happy to sit down with the Minister of State, his officials and the Minister. All parties recognise this is now a crisis. We are putting out the hand of friendship and help. We will work with the Minister of State to ensure good robust legislation will pass from the Seanad to the Dáil because speed is of the essence. We will hit crisis mode again in September, as we will have students competing for accommodation and, I hope, a continued increase in employment. The announcement of 1,000 additional jobs by Amazon was mentioned. That can be multiplied in every city. Cork has also experienced good increases in employment but it has problems dealing with short-term lets. It is similar to the pharmaceutical industry in the Galway area. The workers in that sector are finding it difficult to find accommodation because they are competing with short-term lets. Let us work together to resolve this problem. It will not solve the housing crisis, but it could have a significant effect on helping working people to compete in the market so they can have a home and afford a place to rent without having to compete with the wild west regulation of short-term lets.