We should all recognise the value of short-term letting to rural economies. Of course, the Government should also recognise this. I appreciate the work that has been done in this regard by the Ministers involved. There are 1,800 short-term lets in Kerry worth over €17 million to the county's economy. On the Wild Atlantic Way between Kerry and Donegal, there are over 6,800 short-term lets all in rural counties across the west coast, which is worth €256 million to our economy. Over the weekend, the Minister, Deputy James Browne, stated that regulations around short-term letting will be among the most stringent in the EU. I have worries about exactly what that means. I do not want it to seem or to be that this Government is attacking people involved in short-term lettings because that is not what we should be doing. Of course, we should be doing everything we can to provide housing but in doing that, we have to recognise that people who have been involved in short-term lets for years and years are providing a service in the local economy. They are keeping the local shop, the local pub and the local restaurant going. The register is very welcome. The industry welcomes it but the delays and the lack of details and clarity are not helpful. There is nobody involved in short-term letting who says they do not want a register; that is not the case. The whole issue of planning is terrifying business people who operate in the sector and it should not be so. Of course, for people who are established and have been there for a number of years there should be a grandfather clause in place. Their planning permission should be the fact that they have been at it for a certain number of years. That is the answer to that and it would tick the box on that issue. I have no sympathy for a person who comes along now and wants to buy a house here in Dublin, in Kerry or anywhere and they want to change that house and make it into a short-term let. Of course, they should have the opportunity. They can apply for planning permission. They can go through all the rigours that we put in place and I have no problem with that because we want to stop accommodation going out of long-term residential into short-term letting. However, the poor person who has been at it all along should really be left alone. My main questions for the Minister would be as follows: what does he mean by the most stringent regulations in Europe? I see that as an upset and, being mild about it, a worry to the people involved in that business. Will the Department of housing commit to publishing a national planning statement, NPs, for short-term letting as soon as possible to be helpful to the sector? Will the Minister ensure that planning exemptions will be in place for those who have been operating for seven years or more? Most importantly, will those properties be deemed planning compliant by having a grandfather clause? We have to do something like that to protect the people. What about someone with a property at the back of their house, farm or wherever who was never going to change that from short-term letting to long-term letting? Instead of helping we would actually be hurting because we would be taking a viable business out of a community.

Sentiment score: 0.03

I acknowledge that the minimum figure of 20,000 for towns was a put in place. I had lobbied strongly for that because we want to protect the tourism capital of the western world, which, as everybody knows, is Killarney, County Kerry and there is no doubt about that. However, I am worried about people in towns and areas with a population of less than 20,000 where the planning guidelines will be put in place for short-term letting who have not been operating for more than seven years. The people need to see as soon as possible what will be put in place. The can has been kicked down the road a number of times and I do not want to be fighting about that. All I am saying is that people need clarity. We are very clear on what we are going to be saying to people: we do not want to hound or persecute fine respectable people who are operating very nice businesses, who are paying tax and who have invested heavily in their homes, in their accommodations, specifically for short-term lets. Even where they are located would not blend in with long-term letting because it could literally be putting two families up on top of each other in the same yard. An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach has them in his constituency, as do the Minister of State and other Deputies. They know what I am talking about. At the same time, there is the whole question for the Government of whether it wants to stop places from having any long-term residential accommodation because everything would be short-term. Of course, we want balance. However, we should not throw the baby out with the bathwater. We need to make sure we are protecting established businesses and try to give clarity as soon as possible, rather than upsetting people.

Sentiment score: 0.06