Conor Sheehan (Limerick City, Labour)
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112. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht for an update on the actions he and his Department are taking to ensure properties used for short-term lets are regulated and returned to use as homes; if he has engaged with any of the platforms providing such short term lets in Ireland since his appointment; if there is a target in place for ensuring legislation is in place and functioning; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12700/25]

Edward Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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134. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht his views on the potential impact of the proposed Short Term Letting and tourism Bill 2025 in increasing the number of properties available to rent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21238/25]

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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136. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the measures being taken to protect the need for tourist accommodation in areas where the local economy is highly reliant on tourism; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22809/25]

Edward Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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143. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht his views on the potential impact of the proposed short-term letting and tourism Bill on tourism in 2025, in particular on rural areas; if his attention has been drawn to the concerns of accommodation hosts (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22894/25]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 112, 134, 136 and 143 together.

On 15 April, the Government approved the general scheme for the Short Term Letting and Tourism Bill. This Bill will provide the statutory basis for the introduction of a register for all Short Term Lettings (STLs) in Ireland, which will be implemented and managed by Fáilte Ireland from 20 May 2026, ensuring compliance with the new EU Short Term Rental Regulation which was adopted by the EU on 11 April 2024.

The new STL register will provide a full picture of the stock of registered tourism accommodation across the state. STL hosts offering accommodation for periods up to and including 21 nights will be obliged to register with Fáilte Ireland, confirm their compliance with planning requirements and hold a valid registration number that must be displayed when advertising their STL property on online platforms.

The establishment of the register will assist local authorities with the enforcement of planning requirements for STLs.

My colleague, Mr. James Browne TD. the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, will set out the planning guidance for STLs in a National Planning Statement on short term letting and will progress any necessary legislative changes to implement the new planning requirements. Minister Browne will publish this National Planning Statement in advance of the final enactment of the STLT Bill to provide clarity for the tourism sector.

The approach as approved by Government on 15 April is to generally preclude new planning permissions for STLs in cities and towns with a census population in excess of 10,000 persons and to enable local authorities to have discretion to develop policies for other locations having regard to relevant local criteria to be set out in the planning guidance.

Tourism is of significant importance to the Irish economy, providing c. 227,000 jobs and €6 billion income to our economy in 2024 and the Government is aware of the concerns regarding the impacts on rural tourism and local economies arising from removing a cohort of properties from the STL market. However, meeting local housing need across Ireland is a critically important consideration and this Government is committed to using every lever available to assist in providing homes for our people.

My colleague, Minister Peter Burke TD, in light of his role as Minister who will have formal responsibility for tourism once the function has been transferred to him by Government Order has asked department officials to consider all the implications for the tourism sector. Further work is ongoing by officials and Fáilte Ireland to assess the full implications of the new planning policy direction announced by Minister Browne.

Tourism officials engage with the short term letting platforms and other stakeholders on an ongoing basis, most recently on 29 April. Additionally engagement takes place at an EU level between the EU Commission, Member States and the platforms concerning the implementation of the Short Term Rental Regulation.