The Government’s Short-Term Letting and Tourism Bill has been described as a “terrible attack” on the democratic right of homeowners to decide how to use their own properties.
Speaking during the Committee and Remaining Stages of the Bill in the Dáil on Wednesday, Kerry TD Danny Healy-Rae and other opposition TDs warned of the potential impact of the legislation on existing Airbnb operators.
Earlier this month, Michael Healy-Rae criticised the Bill over its planning requirements, uncertainty for established operators and potential impact on rural businesses.
The Kerry TD tabled 15 amendments to the Bill – telling a debate that the Government had turned a reasonable registration proposal into a “planning headache” for established operators.
Danny Healy-Rae issued a fresh caution today that the proposed rules could damage tourism-dependent communities, particularly in parts of Kerry where hotel accommodation is limited.
“This Bill is a terrible attack on the democratic right of homeowners to do what they wish with their own houses, which they may have bought, built, inherited or acquired in one way or another,” he said.
“Many of these people have been operating Airbnb, B&Bs and short-term lets as part of the tourism product we have in Kerry and Killarney for many, many years. I’m afraid this is going to hurt many of those people.”
Healy-Rae said tourism had been central to Kerry’s economic well-being since the late 19th century, when Queen Victoria visited Killarney and Muckross House.
“Since then, tourism has developed throughout the country. Again, short-term Airbnbs are a critical part of that tourism product,” he added.
The Government has argued that the legislation is necessary to regulate Ireland’s growing short-term letting market, protect the supply of long-term housing and bring greater transparency and accountability to the tourism accommodation sector.
It maintains that provisions for smaller towns and rural areas will help balance the need to protect housing supply with the importance of tourism to local economies.
However, opposition TDs have questioned whether the proposed arrangements adequately protect established operators.
Figures published by housing charity Threshold in March 2026 highlight the scale of short-term letting in some of Ireland’s tourist hotspots.
County Kerry had 1,009 entire properties advertised for short-term letting by multi-property hosts, compared with just 33 homes available to rent long-term.
Clare had 532 short-term lets compared with 19 available rental properties, while Donegal had 662 short-term lets and just 27 homes advertised for rent.
Separate research by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) found that Airbnb listings were equivalent to around one-third of the private rental sector in Westport, County Mayo, and one-sixth in Killarney, County Kerry.
However, the ESRI cautioned that the relationship between short-term letting and the wider housing shortage varies between locations, noting that many rural holiday lets may have been used as holiday homes long before the growth of Airbnb.
TOURISM CONCERNS
Healy-Rae argued that short-term accommodation was particularly important in parts of Kerry where there was insufficient hotel capacity.
“There are many parts of Kerry that don’t have hotels. We remember when the hotels in Killarney were filled with refugees and asylum seekers,” he said.
“We depended so much on short-term lets to allow people to keep the taxis going, keep the buses going, keep the fishermen going. They are so important.”
“There are parts of Kerry, particularly West Kerry, that don’t have enough hotels. For that reason, we rely so much on these people.”
Independent Ireland TD Richard O’Donoghue also criticised the proposed legislation, arguing that the Government was underestimating the practical difficulties facing existing short-term letting operators.
He highlighted the shortage of engineers and architects available to prepare planning applications, the associated costs and questions over whether regularising some properties would be financially viable.
O’Donoghue argued that short-term letting operators had played an important role in sustaining the tourism industry, particularly when hotels across Ireland were accommodating Ukrainian refugees.
“We’re talking about the same people who, when we rolled up our sleeves and welcomed people from Ukraine, filled every hotel in Ireland,” he said.
“Who were the people who stepped up for the tourism sector in this country? The short-term letting operators.
“Who were the people who welcomed visitors into this country and helped the tourism industry? The short-term letting operators.”
SEVEN-YEAR PLANNING RULE
O’Donoghue also raised concerns about the seven-year planning provision and the requirements facing existing short-term letting operators seeking to regularise their properties.
He argued that the process could involve additional requirements relating to buildings, wastewater treatment systems and road access, even where there had been no previous objections or recorded accidents at a property.
“The seven-year rule means that if you apply for planning permission after the seven-year period, you have to be granted permission, but you must regularise what you’ve done, provided nobody had objected to it in the seven years that the building was there or the business was going on there,” he said.
“That’s what the seven-year rule is, in simplified terms.”
He argued that the Government’s approach risked imposing additional requirements on operators who had been providing accommodation for years.
O’Donoghue also criticised the decision not to send the legislation to committee for further examination, arguing that the practical difficulties should have been addressed before the Bill reached the Dáil.
Meanwhile, Independent TD Mattie McGrath called for a three-month extension to the proposed Airbnb registration period, arguing that the timeframe was inadequate.
He said the deadline would coincide with a particularly busy period for farmers and rural accommodation providers.
McGrath also argued that restored farmhouses and rural holiday properties should not automatically be treated as potential residential housing.
Sinn Féin TD Rose Conway-Walsh called for a review of the seven-year exemption, seeking a report within six months identifying how many properties would benefit from the grandfather provision.
She argued that the Government should establish whether the exemption disproportionately benefits large commercial operators or protects small, family-run tourism businesses and rural hosts.