Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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91. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his plans to address the rapid increase in short-term let listings with a provider (details supplied) in the Gaeltacht, given the widely reported housing shortages for local people and for those seeking to settle in the Gaeltacht to raise their families with Irish; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65842/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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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 Enterprise, Tourism and Employment 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. The proposed STLT Bill will provide the statutory basis for the establishment of a register for short term lets in Ireland and for the implementation of the new EU STR.

From 20 May 2026, all short-term letting 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 short-term letting unit registered. This number must be displayed when listing the short-term letting unit on any online platforms.

Following the approval received from Government on the 15 April to generally preclude new planning permissions for short-term lets in large towns and cities, my Department is working to give effect to this decision. My Department is currently drafting a National Planning Statement (NPS) to provide a policy context for local planning authorities to appropriately address short-term letting accommodation.