Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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254. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the concerns of short-term letting hosts (details supplied) that have a single listing that is a dwelling in their garden; if any exemption has been considered for properties of this nature that cannot become a viable long-term home regarding registration and planning permission requirements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35045/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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A review of the current Exempted Development Regulations is ongoing and a wider public consultation on exempted development regulations will be undertaken shortly. Members of the public, State bodies and other concerned parties will be able to make submissions in writing as part of the consultation process.

The Government cannot pre-empt the outcome of any consultation and therefore no decision has been made in respect of any revisions to current exempted development provisions. This includes exemptions for modular housing structures in gardens and the associated use of such structures. Any update to Exempted Development Regulations will require positive resolutions by both Houses of the Oireachtas before it can be signed into law.

With regard to Short Term Letting, the EU Short Term Rental (STR) Regulation was adopted by the EU on 11 April 2024 and is applicable from 20 May 2026. This Regulation lays down harmonised rules on the collection and exchange of data on short term rental services for member states, hosts providing short term accommodation rental services, and online platforms that offer services to hosts providing short term accommodation rental services within the EU.

The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media (DTCAGSM) has drafted the Short Term Letting and Tourism (STLT) Bill General Scheme in full alignment with the STR Regulation. The introduction of the STLT Bill will provide a more effective legal and administrative basis to regulate short term lettings. This Bill when enacted will provide the statutory basis for the introduction of a register for all Short Term Lettings in Ireland, which will be implemented and managed by Fáilte Ireland from 20 May 2026.

The Government has recently agreed a policy to generally preclude new planning permissions for short term letting in cities and towns with a Census population in excess of 10,000 persons, at the most recent Census of Population. It was further agreed that local authorities should have discretion to develop policies for other locations having regard to relevant local criteria to be set out in the guidance. This guidance will be introduced in the form of a National Planning Statement (NPS).

My Department is currently developing a NPS for the short term letting sector to supplement and support the introduction of the STLT Bill. It will consider a variety of factors, such as existing planning legislation, the long term housing need in the local authority area, the location of the proposed short term let and balancing housing need with the potential impact on tourism and economic development.

My Department has met with various stakeholders such as booking platforms and industry representatives and will continue to do so during the development of the NPS for the short-term letting sector. The legislative basis for a NPS is contained within the Planning and Development Act 2024. The relevant provision governing NPS's is due to be commenced later this year.