The Government’s decision to raise the population threshold from 10,000 to 20,000 for towns where short-term letting regulations will apply reveals something about its internal dynamics and rather more about the gap between its rhetoric on housing and its willingness to make difficult decisions.
Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke insists the policy change followed wide consultation rather than internal pressure from rural Independents. This would be more persuasive had Michael Healy-Rae not taken to Instagram. The announcement, the junior Minister wrote, reflected the work he had been doing at Government level.
The episode highlights what is becoming a pattern: the Government acknowledges the urgency of the housing emergency while finding reasons to exempt particular groups from measures designed to address it.
Killarney, which, will escape these restrictions, currently has two properties listed for long-term rent, compared with approximately 300 on Airbnb. Similar disparities exist in other towns.
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Short-term letting has always formed a part of Ireland’s hospitality sector. But it has grown exponentially since the arrival of intermediary platforms such as Airbnb, transforming what was once a modest sideline into something approaching an alternative housing market. It is long past time for these properties to be properly registered and subject to planning laws. Such requirements are neither unreasonable nor too onerous; they are the basic conditions under which any comparable commercial activity operates. Yet governments and local authorities have dragged their feet for more than a decade in implementing effective rules. Ireland’s first attempt at regulation in 2019 was a conspicuous failure, with studies suggesting almost no one applied for the required planning permission.
The case for proper regulation of the sector is unanswerable. As the head of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation acknowledged to an Oireachtas committee last year, it is currently “completely unregulated” and even basic data on the number of short-term lets is unavailable. The existence of such an information vacuum in 2026 is an indictment of regulatory failure. The new Fáilte Ireland register is an essential step.
Tourism industry representatives warn regulations will see short-term lets “fall off a cliff”. These prophecies of doom will now be tested, but only in the cities and larger towns where the regulations will apply. If the industry’s predictions prove accurate, there could be a positive knock-on effect on the broader housing market. If they are overblown, it will raise questions about why smaller towns were exempted at all.
The housing crisis demands difficult trade-offs. This Government appears reluctant to make them
