Long-awaited new laws to crack down on Airbnb-style accommodation have been further delayed after a pushback from Kerry ministers, writes Sarah McGuinness and Craig Hughes.

The proposals would limit short-term lets to operating for 90 days a year in urban areas with a population of over 10,000, but the plans are being resisted by three Cabinet ministers.

This is despite the Government claiming the measures could bring up to 12,000 short-term lets back into the housing market.

Fianna Fáil minister and Kerry TD Norma Foley is understood to be opposing the legislation, alongside some Independent ministers, due to the impact it may have on rural tourism – with areas in their constituencies likely to be affected.

Independent Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, said he did not believe the legislation would lead to large numbers of existing short-term lets being placed on the private market.

Mr Healy-Rae, who does not sit at Cabinet but is one of nine Independent TDs who entered Government with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, said he is “hopeful a resolution that is acceptable to everyone can be found”.

“There’s concern, I’ve always said that I’m not sure it will achieve what it’s hoped to achieve.

“People seem to think if you introduce it, that all those properties will go from short-term lets to back on the market.

“I don’t think that’s the case. I think it would be a small amount,” he said.

Mr Healy-Rae said he does not have a vested interest in the legislation as, despite letting out several properties and owning several guesthouses, he does not have any short-term letting properties, and does not use Airbnb.

However, he said he believed short-term letting was crucial to tourism in places such as the Ring of Kerry.

The Cabinet committee on housing – which neither Ms Foley nor Mr Healy-Rae are part of – agreed, when it met last week, to include the criteria for areas where there are over 10,000 residents.

However, a memo was not on the Cabinet agenda in advance of yesterday’s meeting, and ministers refused to allow Enterprise and Tourism Minister Peter Burke and Housing Minister James Browne to table it.

Cabinet sources said several ministers were uncomfortable with passing “last-minute changes” to the legislation, brought forward by Mr Burke at short notice.

One senior minister said they only received the Bill in full minutes before the Cabinet meeting began.

“The pages were still hot from the printer. [He made] literally last-minute changes with his new Tourism hat on. It will be tabled next week,” they said.

“We only got the documents five minutes before we went into the meeting,” another minister added. “We needed more time to read the thing.”

Another minister said there was “very little discussion on it at Cabinet” and that “several ministers weren’t happy that aspects were being changed last-minute, so it was kicked back for a week or so”.

BusinessPlus.ie understands that the issue of the population limit of 10,000 is currently being “reassessed” before being brought back to Cabinet in the coming weeks.

The tourist hotbed of Killarney, in Mr Healy-Rae and Ms Foley’s constituency, had a population of 14,412, according to the 2022 census.

Cabinet sources noted rural tourism has suffered from a lack of accommodation with many hotel rooms being used to house asylum seekers.

With a population of 26,000, Ms Foley’s hometown of Tralee is likely to be one of the tourist-friendly areas which may be impacted by the laws.

One senior figure denied the charge that the changes were last-minute, saying the legislation and proposed memo were circulated “well in advance” of the meeting.

Minister Browne said the rules need more “fine-tuning” before they can be approved by ministers.

“There are a few adjustments that need to be made to it, a little bit of fine-tuning that’ll be carried out over the next week, and then it will go to Cabinet.

“I fully expect it to pass by Cabinet next week,” he said.

Asked what this “fine-tuning” involved, Mr Browne said there were “a couple of essential legal pieces” that would have required an adjustment if it had gone to Cabinet.

“It won’t change the substance of the legislation or the memo itself,” he said.

Plans to establish a register for short-term lets, such as Airbnb accommodation, were announced by the previous coalition in December 2022.

The register will be developed in partnership with Fáilte Ireland and aim to clamp down on short-term lets that are rented all year round without the necessary planning permission.

The register – and the accompanying legislation – were cited by Tánaiste and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris as one of three measures his party is pursuing to ease the housing crisis.

In a video posted to TikTok, Mr Harris vowed that Fine Gael will “regulate Airbnbs to make sure there are more properties available to rent in this country”.

However, the introduction was delayed as it had to be done in conjunction with EU legislation.

The last government of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party initially planned to exempt Airbnbs from requiring planning permission in rural areas with populations below 5,000 that fell into Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs).

The legislation will enable the establishment of a register for short-term lettings.

Once the register is in place, officials will be able to identify where the short-term letting properties are.

Under the Short-Term Rental Regulation, online platforms will have to give monthly reports for any area with a registration procedure.

The reports will include the contact details of the host, the address of the property and activity data about the number of nights the property was rented.

Fáilte Ireland will manage the register and will be able to share data with the planning authorities to support the enforcement of planning laws.

Short-term lets have to apply for planning permission in order for unoccupied second homes to be rented out.

Permission must also be obtained if their primary residence is let out for more than 90 days in a year.