Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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The Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, is very welcome to the House.

Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail)
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Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I thank him for taking this matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin. When the Minister of State and I served on the Oireachtas tourism committee, of which he was a very active member prior to his elevation, he will have been quite familiar with the issue I wish to raise, namely our ongoing wait for the short-term letting legislation. Let me be very clear at the outset: I strongly support that legislation. We need to have a registration system involving Fáilte Ireland, and the Government has given money to Fáilte Ireland to set that up. We need to address the problem of those who are effectively gaming the system by converting properties that should be in long-term rental accommodation into short-term rental accommodation.

Let me refer to my specific concerns. We still have not got full clarity on some of the planning regulations in this area that relate to rural tourism. I am thinking about coastal cottages and farm sheds. In many cases, these are self-catering operations, but they have been running for a long number of years. The Minister of State, being from Mayo, will be as familiar as I am in Wexford with many such properties. He will recall that the Oireachtas tourism committee discussed this in much detail right through 2023. When we reported on developing rural tourism in our report in November 2023, we made a very specific recommendation, No. 14:

The Committee recommends that the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media engage with Cabinet colleagues with a view to developing appropriate accommodation strategies for tourism in rural areas that balance the needs of local communities with those of their visitors.

In all our communities, no one is disputing the need to have long-term rental properties available. However, as the Minister of State will know, our current difficulty is that there is no consistency in planning enforcement from local authority to local authority. Certain local authorities are taking a very hardline approach, going after short-term rental properties or holiday cottages that have been in operation for ages and expecting them to meet certain current planning regulations, whereas others are adopting a more pragmatic approach. This is providing great uncertainty within the sector. We have had a long tradition of self-catering cottages and farm tourism, with farmyard sheds being made available for short-term accommodation. At a time when we are facing a tourism accommodation crisis, particularly in rural areas, those players are critical in the market.

We really need to have an update. I appreciate that there was a discussion between the Department of housing and the Department of tourism on the short-term letting legislation and that engagement was required with the European Commission; however, the continuing lack of uncertainty in this area remains a problem. As we understood it, there could be planning exemptions in areas with populations of fewer than 5,000. As we are coming into the summer, I ask that the Government now offer certainty to the vital tourism providers in question and that a pragmatic approach be taken so we can ensure their vital service can continue.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Byrne for raising this important matter. This is an area of particular interest to him. I acknowledge his work and that of the members of the joint Oireachtas committee on tourism on this specific matter.As a former member of that committee, I know it is important that we get clarity in respect of it.

I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin. The proposed short-term letting and tourism Bill will provide the statutory basis for the establishment of a register for short-term lets in Ireland and for the implementation of the new EU short-term rental regulation, which was adopted by the EU on 11 April 2024. The Minister intends to bring the revised general scheme of the short-term letting and tourism Bill to Government for approval shortly. She will then proceed with drafting the Bill. The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media is also engaged with the European Commission on the draft legislation under the notification requirements of the technical regulations information system, TRIS, directive. As part of the TRIS process, the general scheme of the short-term letting and tourism Bill, once approved by Government, will be sent to the EU Commission. This will enable the TRIS process to be concluded.

The Government's housing policy, Housing for All, includes the objective of making more efficient use of existing housing. One of the actions to achieve this is the development of a new regulatory control requiring short-term lettings to be registered with Fáilte Ireland, with a view to ensuring that houses are used to best effect in areas of housing need. While the short-term letting tourism Bill is not specifically targeted at reducing the number of short-term let properties in Ireland, it will provide a framework within which planning authorities can identify short-term let properties that are operating without the appropriate planning permission. Planning authorities will then be better able to adjudicate, in the context of local housing need, how applications for change of use planning permission will be dealt with.

The Minister is aware that there are concerns regarding the impact on rural tourism, as outlined by Senator Malcolm Byrne, and local economies of the removal of a significant cohort of short-term let properties from the tourism and other short-term letting markets. The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media statement of strategy includes the goal of supporting the recovery and economic growth of a competitive tourism sector that is environmentally, economically and socially sustainable.

The critical piece in balancing local housing and tourism needs will be planning guidelines, which are under the development of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The guidelines aim to provide the necessary clarity to the short-term let sector and how planning authorities will implement the planning requirements around short-term let properties. The Department will be publishing those guidelines in alignment with the publication of the short-term letting and tourism Bill. The sectoral concerns about the possible impact on rural tourism will be assessed by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in the planning guidelines. The introduction of the register will provide an accurate record of all short-term letting stock across the country. Property owners operating in the sector will be allowed a period of six months from the launch of the short-term letting register to check the status of their short-term letting unit and, where required, apply for change of use planning permission from their local authority. Those who avail of the six-month clarification period will receive a valid short-term letting registration number, which will allow them to advertise the property from the launch of the register while the planning status is being clarified.

From a tourism perspective, the proposed short-term letting and tourism Bill will allow Fáilte Ireland, for the first time, to have a full picture of tourism accommodation across the State, significantly enhancing its ability to promote and drive tourism investment.

The Minister looks forward to working with the Senator and the Oireachtas committee to progress the legislation, to ensure the sustainable development of tourism and to contribute to the better use of existing housing for the common good.

Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail)
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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.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Byrne for raising the real importance of self-catering accommodation, bed and breakfast accommodation and the wider short-term tourism letting sector. It is an important element of the Irish tourism ecosystem. We want to see our tourism sector co-existing in a more sustainable way, recognising and complementing the local needs of many communities, both economically and socially. The long-term sustainable growth of tourism requires that an appropriate balance is achieved between the short-term and long-term rental sector. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is responsible for the planning system and is currently examining the planning system requirements can be best implemented in those areas where housing demand pressure is not high but where rural tourism is a strong feature of the local economy. Even in my area, along the Wild Atlantic Way, it is important that we have a sustainable tourism environment and that we are not robbing Peter to pay Paul.

It is hoped that this will be handled in a pragmatic way. We recognise the importance of tourism for this country, particularly in rural areas, while recognising that specific parts of the country have rent pressure zones and that there is a clear need for additional housing supply. I will certainly relay the importance of the Senator's point to the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin. I echo many representative organisations of self-catering and bed and breakfast accommodation about the important part they play in the overall tourism accommodation ecosystem and that it is vital, where possible, that we recognise what we are trying to do with this registration in a sensible way with the planning authorities.

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his time this afternoon. We realise how busy he is. I think we all agree that a pragmatic approach would be best in this regard. I thank Senator Byrne for tabling the Commencement matter.