Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Independent)
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346. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if her Department has plans to regulate the short-term let sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37033/24]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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The proposed Short Term Letting and Tourism (STLT) Bill will provide the statutory basis for the establishment of a register for Short Term Lets (STLs) in Ireland and for the implementation of the new EU Short Term Rental (STR) Regulation which was adopted by the EU on 11 April 2024.

It is intended to bring the STLT General Scheme to Government in the coming period for approval and publication and to then proceed with drafting of the Bill.

The Government's housing policy, “Housing for All”, has specifically committed, in the context of making more efficient use of existing housing stock, to developing regulatory controls with a view to ensuring that homes are used to best effect in areas of housing need. The Bill will provide a framework within which planning authorities can identify short term letting properties that are operating without the appropriate planning permission. Planning authorities will then able to adjudicate, in the context of local housing need, how applications for change of use planning permission might be dealt with.

The STLT Bill will not propose any changes to existing planning requirements for STLs operating in Ireland, however the establishment of a register for STLs will assist local authorities with enforcement of existing planning requirements.

My Department’s 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. Balancing local housing and tourism needs is a critical challenge and planning guidelines that are under development by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage will be important in this regard. My colleague, the Minister for Housing, intends to publish these guidelines in alignment with the publication of the Bill.