Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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318. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government for an update in relation to any engagements with the EU Commission in relation to the short-term holiday let register agreed by Cabinet in December 2022; if there are any updates in relation to its implementation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44862/23]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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On 7 December 2022 the Government approved the priority drafting of the Registration of Short-Term Tourist Letting (STTL) Bill and publication of the General Scheme of the Bill which provides for the registration of short-term tourist lettings with Fáilte Ireland in line with the commitment under Housing for All, the Government's housing policy.

On 21 December the proposed STTL Bill was submitted by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media (DTCAGSM) to the EU Commission pursuant to the requirements of the Technical Regulations Information System (TRIS) EU Directive 2015/1535. Such a notification triggers a standstill period of 3 months during which the proposed Bill cannot be enacted. On 22 March 2023, DTCAGSM received a communication from the EU Commission which extends that standstill period until 22 December 2023. Following this, in May, I wrote to Commissioner Nicolas Schmit expressing my concern in relation to the delay and the extension of the standstill period.

As part of the ongoing engagement with the Commission, my Department, DTCAGSM and Fáilte Ireland held a constructive meeting with representatives of the Commission in Brussels on 23 June last. It is expected that further engagement with the Commission will follow in the months ahead.

Further engagement with the Commission by DTCAGSM on the Registration of Short-Term Tourist Letting Bill as well as the finalisation of the negotiations on the Commission's parallel proposal for a Regulation on data collection and sharing relating to short-term accommodation rental services will inform the timeline for the legislation and the establishment of the register.