Edward Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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376. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if compliant owners of short-term lets have to pay to register with Fáilte Ireland (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28587/25]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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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.

All 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 registration process will be straightforward and should take only minutes to complete for each unit.

An annual registration fee per unit will apply, ranging from in the region of €50 for a room in an occupied house to around €150 for whole unit depending on the number of guests that can be accommodated.

When registering, the STL host will be required to declare that they comply with current statutory obligations pertaining to planning, building and fire safety requirements.

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.