Pat Casey (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I also congratulate the Leas-Chathaoirleach on the work he has done. Anybody who knows Senator Mark Daly knows who Thomas Meagher is - that is for sure.

The issue I raise has been raised by a number of Senators in recent weeks and is very topical at the moment. It relates to the short-term letting legislation that is before the House. It would be no harm for the House to have a broader debate on that legislation and the impact it is having. I come with a background that is balanced, having served on the housing committee in the previous Dáil. I was also the first person to raise the impact short-term lettings are having on the homeless crisis. As somebody who was born, bred and lived his whole life in the hospitality sector, I also understand the importance of the industry, specifically in rural areas. Is this legislation required? Absolutely. I have fought for its introduction and believe it should be introduced from a tourism product point of view in that any tourism offering should at least be registered, if nothing else. More important, what impact is it having on the housing crisis? Some 75% of homeless are living within 15 km of this Chamber. Homelessness is a city crisis rather than a rural one. That is why the blunt instrument of the rent pressure zones in this legislation will not work. It must go much deeper than that.

There is also a hospitality and tourism crisis when it comes to accommodation availability. That is helping short-term lettings to grow because more than 35,000 hotel beds have been taken up by either homeless people or refugees. That has a significant negative impact on the hospitality market. The last thing we want from a hospitality point of view is to take out additional accommodation in short-term lettings where these are needed. There are locations far outside of cities that will be ruled not to be viable under the new legislation. They are in no man's land, the depths of rural Ireland, and they are an integral part of the tourism product. They are in the depths of rural Ireland and are an integral part of the tourism product. Fáilte Ireland has a critical role to play. It must gauge each application on whether it is a genuine tourism product that offers added benefit to the hospitality sector or whether it is having an impact on the housing crisis. It must focus solely on the cities where the crisis is at its worst and where short-term lettings have the greatest impact. Sometimes committees get very focused on a very narrow brief. I believe this House could have a broader debate on the impact that short-term lettings are having on the hospitality sector and the homeless and housing crisis in Ireland. There is a connection between the two issues.