{"id":263226,"date":"2026-01-02T10:37:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T10:37:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/263226\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T10:37:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T10:37:07","slug":"healy-rae-urges-serious-rethink-of-planned-short-term-lets-crackdown-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/263226\/","title":{"rendered":"Healy-Rae urges \u2018serious rethink\u2019 of planned short-term lets crackdown \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

There should be a \u201cserious rethink\u201d of the Government\u2019s planned crackdown on short-term letting (STL) \u201cbefore irreparable damage is done to rural Ireland\u201d, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture Michael Healy-Rae <\/a>has told senior Coalition figures. <\/p>\n

The Independent junior minister and Kerry TD said the existing plans are \u201cnot the solution to the housing crisis … It is scapegoating and I cannot and will not support it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Healy-Rae made the remarks in an email to Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin and T\u00e1naiste Simon Harris, which was released under the Freedom of Information Act.<\/p>\n

The Departments of Enterprise and Housing are developing a new regime for short-term lets, such as those advertised on Airbnb and other platforms.<\/p>\n

This includes a new register set to be in place from mid-May 2026, underpinned by updated planning permission rules.<\/p>\n

The proposals are part of efforts to tackle the housing crisis<\/a>, with some suggestions that as many as 10,000 homes could be freed up for long-term rental use.<\/p>\n

Included in the plans are a requirement for planning permission for short-term lets, which previously did not apply to many rural areas, and a population threshold bringing in restrictions on new short-term lets in large towns and cities.<\/p>\n

The proposals have prompted concerns among STL owners and politicians in tourist areas. <\/p>\n

In Mr Healy-Rae\u2019s November 2nd email to Mr Martin and Mr Harris, he wrote that he was reiterating his \u201cabsolute opposition to how this is being approached and to urge a serious rethink before irreparable damage is done to rural Ireland.\u201d<\/p>\n

He claimed: \u201cIt is increasingly clear to me that not enough thought is being given\u201d to \u201cthe devastating consequences this legislation will have on rural communities, rural tourism, and rural jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Healy-Rae wrote: \u201cLet me be blunt: this legislation will not deliver the housing return being promised, and it will do enormous damage to rural economies in the process.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he has met people operating short-term letting businesses for as many as 30 years and they are \u201cgood, honest, tax-compliant people\u201d who \u201cinvested heavily over decades\u201d.<\/p>\n

Mr Healy-Rae predicted that such houses \u201cwill not go into the long-term rental market\u201d as they are \u201cnot suitable for it on a practical level\u201d and are designed as self-catering or STL properties. <\/p>\n

Mr Healy-Rae added that he was \u201cinsisting that we relook urgently at planning exemptions for long-standing STL operators\u201d.<\/p>\n

A Government statement said Minster for Enterprise Peter Burke is \u201cacutely aware\u201d of the \u201cthe concerns of the tourism industry\u201d particularly rural STL providers and these \u201care being addressed through continued engagement with all stakeholders. This view is similarly held by [Minister for Housing James] Browne.\u201d<\/p>\n

It said the decision to introduce an STL register has been \u201cbroadly welcomed by the tourism sector\u201d.<\/p>\n

Mr Browne is to \u201cprogress any necessary legislative changes to implement the new planning requirements\u201d, and planning guidance on short-term letting is to be published in advance of the enactment of the Bill that allows for the STL register.<\/p>\n

In response to a query on whether he would oppose the plans in the D\u00e1il unless they are changed, Mr Healy-Rae said: \u201cI await to see the final Bill laid before the House.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Healy-Rae, who is a landlord of a number of properties, said: \u201cI can confirm I do not own any [STL] properties or use STL platforms.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There should be a \u201cserious rethink\u201d of the Government\u2019s planned crackdown on short-term letting (STL) \u201cbefore irreparable damage…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":263227,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[135177,787,9,10,18,788,13,14,6,789,19,17,11,12,15,16,5,790,7,791,8],"class_list":{"0":"post-263226","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ireland","8":"tag-armament","9":"tag-bestof","10":"tag-breaking-news","11":"tag-breakingnews","12":"tag-eire","13":"tag-essential","14":"tag-featured-news","15":"tag-featurednews","16":"tag-headlines","17":"tag-horizontal","18":"tag-ie","19":"tag-ireland","20":"tag-latest-news","21":"tag-latestnews","22":"tag-main-news","23":"tag-mainnews","24":"tag-news","25":"tag-politics","26":"tag-top-stories","27":"tag-topix","28":"tag-topstories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115825072189547365","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263226"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263226\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}