Officials warned that failure to regulate short-term lettings could lead to protests against tourism, undermining the “Irish welcome” and damaging the attractiveness of Ireland as a destination.
Internal briefing documents, drawn up in advance of a proposal to ban Airbnb style planning permissions in towns of more than 10,000 people, show officials pointed to difficulties in other EU countries regulating an “unmanageable level of growth” and “over tourism”.
This had led to a “backlash from residents and social unrest”, officials in the Department of Tourism warned. While that had not happened in Ireland, a lack of regulation “will inhibit authorities from managing tourism numbers appropriately in the future”.
It said that a “core draw” for Irish tourism is the “Irish welcome”.
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“This factor is heavily dependent on host communities having a positive attitude to incoming visitors. Housing constraints caused by unmanaged short-term letting will undoubtedly lead to resentment and maybe even overt protests against tourism,” the note written in March outlines.
It said that failing to achieve a balance “could directly undermine the attractiveness of Ireland as a destination”.
The documents also reveal that advice drafted to plan new rules clamping down on short-term lettings made no reference to exceptions planned for towns of fewer than 10,000 people.
A note drawn up for senior officials in late March shows that civil servants favoured a ban on short-term lettings but that local authorities would be able to approve exceptions subject to a “high bar” and strict criteria.
It said a variation could include a general ban in the five main cities in the State with more flexibility elsewhere, or that criteria for exceptions could be linked to housing pressure or where short-term lettings contribute significantly to local economies.
But it did not suggest any population-linked exceptions to the rule.
Opposition TDs now want further information on where the population criteria came from. “If it wasn’t advised by the officials where is the evidence underpinning this 10,000 figure,” said Social Democrats housing spokesman Rory Hearne.
Sinn Féin’s housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin said it was “of particular note” that the 10,000 figure was not referenced in the note for senior officials.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Enterprise, which is responsible for tourism, said the new policy will “generally preclude new planning permissions for STLs [short-term lettings] in cities and towns with a census population in excess of 10,000 persons and ... enable local authorities [to] have discretion to develop policies for other locations having regard to relevant local criteria to be set out in the planning guidance”.
The options paper, which was drawn up by the Department of Housing and released under freedom of information laws, also suggested a total ban, or full delegation of decisions on short-term lettings permissions to local authorities.
However, it came down in favour of a hybrid option with a planning ban that could be varied by local authorities if a high bar was met. It argued that this would help alleviate housing shortages while allowing short-term lets where the impact was minimal and benefits the economy and community.
