People renting out short-term lets 'cannot be hounded out of business', says minister

As reported by the Irish Examiner on Tuesday, 64% of the 34,000 houses advertised on short-term letting platforms in May offered people the “entire” property.

In comparison, there were between 1,600 and 1,800 properties available for renters seeking long-term accommodation on Daft.ie in recent days. In Dublin, some 3,850 (55%) of 7,010 properties available for short-term let offered the entire property.

Enterprise and tourism minister Peter Burke further stated that the number of properties on short-term letting platforms was growing by 10% per year.

Speaking on Newstalk’s Pat Kenny Show, Mr Healy-Rae stated that the Irish Examiner report “highlights further a problem that we have”. He argued that a “balance” is required.

“We need people to be involved in the private rental market, because we need those businesses to be there,” he said. “If you take cases like Co Kerry or anywhere where we have local and national, international tourists, we need short-term accommodation.

“People involved in catering short-term, people who have farmhouses that they've rented out or flats that they've rented out on a short-term basis, they didn't create the housing crisis in Ireland. Neither are they the solution to it.

“If you're the person who is presently at short-term accommodation, they shouldn't be hounded out of that business. No way in the world. Those people should be allowed to continue what they've been doing in the past.

“What I would agree 100% with is if a person buys a property that's for sale now in a city or indeed anywhere and it's been used in long-term residential accommodation, you should be made go through rigours and procedures if you want to change that. 

In other words, seek permission to change that to short-term catering. I have no problem with that.

He said any measures brought in would have to take account of people already operating. 

"You could put a timer, and I've suggested this, that, say for instance, people who are self-catering and all that sort of thing for maybe five or six years, that they would be allowed continue with their business.

“But, yes, of course, if new people come along then into the private residential accommodation and buying that and looking to change it over [to short-term let accommodation], well then we're going to have nothing for long-term people.”

The Government is currently in the process of changing how short-term lets operate in Ireland.

Currently, people must apply for planning permission to rent out their principal private residence for less than 14 days at a time. New legislation proposed by Mr Burke will introduce a register for all short-term lets from May 2026. 

Hosts offering accommodation for up to 21 nights will be obliged to register and hold a valid registration number.

The legislation will restrict short-term lets in towns with populations of over 10,000 people. However, people in these towns will still be allowed to rent out their primary residences for up to 90 days.