I am going to start off addressing the short-term lets. As the Minister knows, I am a member of the enterprise committee where we have been considering the legislation and considering the conversations around it. One of the main things that consistently comes across from people in the industry is that they are not really concerned with the register as such. However, they are very concerned with the implications that could follow on from the register if there is a planning obligation forced on so many of these rural lets. I represent Galway East where we have a significant number of fantastic short-term let options that provide accommodation that, to be honest, would not be there only for tourism. That accommodation is the type of accommodation that this Bill really is not going to bring back into long-term letting. I can understand the power the Bill can have on big cities in terms of bringing townhouses and apartments back in as long-term rental accommodation use, which they were originally built for and which they were originally given planning permission for. However, there are a lot of units, dwellings, granny flats and really creative ideas like tepee huts and log cabins. A lot of these have been there for many years providing a unique form of accommodation and providing a unique experience. Whatever about the register, there needs to be serious consideration when it comes to the planning side of it because the obligation it would put on these operators would be seriously onerous and, from all the dealings I have seen from local authorities, is that it would amount to a significant cost on them as well. It would also add to the local authority's workload in their planning departments so that is also an important consideration. Over the past decade, Fáilte Ireland did an incredible job, along with the local authorities, of implementing, designing and driving the Wild Atlantic Way. In 2024, there was a ten-year report on the Wild Atlantic Way and it showed it drives an extra €3 billion in revenue per year and has added an additional 35,000 jobs to the tourism sector. That is an incredible story. When the Wild Atlantic Way is so successful and has so much to offer, why are we allowing the best, most photographed castle in the west of Ireland and one of the most photographed castles in Ireland be left vacant and closed? It is currently owned by the Shannon Group, which is looking to divest. Galway County Council should take it over and should operate it. I know we have met with the Minister on this, that he has it as a consideration and that he needs other Departments to row in with him to make this a reality. Months have passed now and Galway County Council has not taken it into ownership. If Galway County Council took it into ownership, there is nothing stopping it from opening over the summer on a minimum viable product basis. That essentially means it does not have to be perfect for us to open it. Right now, the longer it is left sitting it is rotting and it is decaying and we will never be able to replace it. We are going to look back at history and say we did a great job with the Wild Atlantic Way but the best castle on the route was closed.

Sentiment score: 0.15