Robert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

462. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his Department intends to launch a national public awareness campaign in advance of the introduction of new regulations under the Short-Term Letting (STL) Bill, to ensure that property owners and hosts are fully informed of their obligations before the May 2026 commencement date; and if he will provide details of his Department’s engagement with the Department of Housing and Local Authorities to ensure consistent guidance and communication to the sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61872/25]

Robert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

463. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will jointly develop and deliver a national public relations and information campaign with the Minister of Housing to provide clear and accessible guidance for short-term letting hosts ahead of the May 2026 implementation of the new regulatory framework; to provide details of the way in which host representative groups and stakeholders will be included in the consultation and communication process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61873/25]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I propose to take Questions Nos. 462 and 463 together.

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

The new STL register will be available online and has been broadly welcomed by the tourism sector.

From 20 May 2026, all STL hosts offering accommodation for periods up to and including 21 nights will be obliged to register with Fáilte Ireland via a digital system and confirm their compliance with planning requirements. The registration process will take just 5 minutes to complete and will result in a unique registration number being issued for each STL unit registered. This number must be displayed when listing the STL unit on any online platforms.

Fáilte Ireland has estimated that, based on data for August 2025 which has been screen scraped from publicly available STL listings across four major booking platforms, there are c.35,400 STL properties in the State currently being advertised online and up to 65% of these properties are advertised as “entire” houses and apartments. The research points to a 26.9% increase from an estimated 27,900 units listed in August 2022. It is important, in such a fast-growing area, that we have oversight and data on where this growth is happening.

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is currently carrying out a review of the Planning Acts and is developing guidance for local authorities on short-term letting by way of a National Planning Statement.

Minister Browne will progress any necessary legislative changes to implement the new Planning requirements. The National Planning Statement will be published in advance of the final enactment of the STLT Bill to provide clarity for the tourism sector.

Government is mindful of concerns in both rural and major tourism regions where Short Term Lettings provide much needed accommodation for visitors. These concerns are being addressed through continued engagement with all stakeholders. Since the establishment of the Short Term Letting Register was announced in 2021 my Department and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage have had ongoing, regular engagement on the matter and have held joint stakeholder engagement meeting. The most recent stakeholder engagement meetings were on 29 April and 30 June. These meetings were held to ensure all stakeholders are aware of the new STL registration requirements in advance of their introduction from 20 May next year and to provide information on the National Planning Statement for Short-term letting. At the meeting of 30 June all stakeholders were invited to make submissions to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage on the proposed National Planning Statement.

As part of this engagement process officials from my Department, along with those from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH), accepted an invitation to speak at the Irish Self Catering Federation Annual Conference in County Clare on 11 October. This engagement will provide another opportunity to hear the concerns of those stakeholders and to provide further clarity on the new regulatory requirements for this sector.

The STL sector has emerged and developed at a fast pace over the past decade and most (99%) of the Short Term Letting (STL) accommodation providers are not associated with industry representative groups. To ensure all accommodation providers are aware of their obligations from next May, my Department launched a communications campaign on 28 October. This campaign relates to the Short Term Letting and Tourism (STLT) Bill and the establishment of the Short Term Letting (STL) Register, which is my responsibility. Prior to the launch of this campaign, officials in both Departments have been engaging on their communications plans and that engagement will continue. DHLGH communications campaign will be in relation to planning matters for Short Term Lets, which is the responsibility of Minister Browne. Fáilte Ireland will also launch a communications campaign next year focused primarily on the registration process.