Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. At least there is agreement between the Departments of tourism and housing over what has to happen. We all want to increase the number of long-term rentals available. The concern is that if measures are introduced, the impact on short-term rentals will not mean that they come into the long-term rental market but instead that we simply lose them from the tourism market.The Minister of State and I have talked about this before. It is all very nice staying in a coastal cottage in July and August, but that property may not be suitable to stay in in December or January. A critical part of the Minister of State's response, which we have been looking for, is the issue of the planning guidelines and how they are applied by local authorities. At present, we have a variance in approach from local authorities. We want to protect those genuine short-term tourism rental properties. We want to stop those gaming the system. We really need to have clarity with regard to those planning guidelines as soon as possible. I urge the Minister of State to take it back to the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin. The legislation should be published shortly with clear guidelines with regard to planning which are communicated to the local authorities.