Short-term letting proposals will squeeze tourist beds, industry chiefs warn

Planned curbs on short-term letting will tighten the squeeze on tourist accommodation by stripping the Republic of self-catering properties, tourism chiefs warn. Proposed laws will require anyone offering short-term lets to tourists to register the property with Bord Fáilte, while they may also need planning permission to continue the practice.

Elaina Fitzgerald Kane, chairwoman of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC), warned that the move could “denude the country” of self-catering premises when they are most needed.

The confederation noted that the latest Central Statistics Office figures show tourists spend 11 million bed nights in rented apartments or houses, demonstrating short-term accommodation’s importance to the industry. “As a matter of urgency Government must engage openly and constructively with tourism stakeholders in creating a short-term-letting system that is fit for purpose,” said Ms Fitzgerald Kane.

The confederation welcomes the registration of short-term lets, but warns that the “onerous” planning rules that the legislation proposes risk devastating tourism. The industry fears that strict guidelines in the Registration of Short-Term Tourist Letting Bill will prevent most properties offering this from getting planning permission.

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According to Eoghan O’Mara Walsh, ITIC chief executive, up to 30 per cent of hotels and guest houses are contracted to the Government for humanitarian purposes. “We need all the capacity we can to cater for tourism so now is not the time to introduce a draconian policy in relation to Airbnbs and self-catering properties.”

Mr O’Mara Walsh maintained that clamp downs on short-term lets in Scotland and New York had not worked. He said that Scottish politicians fear the move threatens the viability of Edinburgh’s Festival, while the axing of 85 per cent of New York’s short-term rentals has spiked hotel prices and “frustrated” demand.

Meanwhile, Mr O’Mara Walsh noted, England decided that only new short-term rentals needed planning permission while those already doing so could continue trading. His organisation wants the State to take a similarly balanced approach to the issue here.

The ITIC says State agency Fáilte Ireland calculates that tourists spend €2.50 for every €1 they spend on accommodation, implying a “profound” knock-on impact on the economy from the accommodation squeeze.

Ms Fitzgerald Kane said that tourism was the Republic’s biggest home-grown industry and regional employer. “Already we are dealing with enormous cost pressures and to lose so many bedrooms across Ireland is going to the compound the industry’s problems.”