Danny Healy-Rae: Urges Exemption for Airbnb Hosts with 7+ Years
Danny Healy-Rae spoke about the short-term letting bill and urged exemptions for hosts who have operated Airbnb for more than seven years, arguing they are entitled to planning as they already have it. He warned the matter is urgent and must be resolved in time for the current season.
Calls for exemption for long-running Airbnb hosts
Danny Healy-Rae said anyone who has been doing Airbnb for more than seven years should not be required to seek planning permission and should retain planning by default. He argued some people have been operating for 20 years and more and are therefore entitled to planning because they already have it.
Position on new entrants and planning requirements
He said new people entering short-term letting could be subject to planning laws, but existing long-term hosts should be protected from new planning requirements. He framed this as a distinction between longstanding operators and prospective newcomers under the short-term letting legislation.
Concerns about town thresholds in the bill
He referenced rumours that the government will increase the population threshold to 20,000 for towns affected by the short-term letting bill, and said he was glad to hear about that potential change. He noted the government had decided that areas below 20,000 would not be impacted by the legislation.
Urgency for the current letting season and parliamentary exchanges
He described the issue as very urgent and said it must be dealt with quickly so people can continue operating for this season or they will lose it. During the exchange there were references to QPM, a request for a response from Tishak, and mentions of Deputy Michael Cahill and Deputy Switzer in connection with representations on the matter.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
I'm glad that there are rumours that you're going to dilute the short-term letting bill and where you're increasing the numbers for towns that will have to be 20,000 and over. However, I prefer if there was no one that has been doing Airbnb for more than seven years, I believe that they're entitled to planning because they already have it. There's people at this for 20 years and more. Indeed, I'm saying to you, whatever you're bringing forward should allow the people that are at Airbnb to continue doing it as they will. And if you want to bring in laws for new people going into it and that they have to go for planning, then that's all right. But the people that have been at it for years and especially over seven years, they shouldn't have to go for planning and have it by default. The other thing I want to say to you, Tishak, this is very urgent. It has to be dealt with urgently to let the people continue with what they're doing for this season, otherwise they'll lose this season. Tishak, to respond. You've one question during QPM. It was all the ones, sir. Your time was up. Deputy Michael Cahill has made equally strong representations to me on this issue. Please, Deputy. Because he was in my ear about this stuff for the last month or two months. Ah, look, look, Deputy, have some respect for it. He hasn't stopped talking to me about it. But the point is the government decided that below 20,000 would not be impacted by the short-term letting legislation. In terms of planning, planning is there prior to this legislation. The planning laws are there. Any variation to commercial requires planning permission. Now, you've referenced seven years plus. You're on the ball to a certain extent. That is the existing position. Please, Deputy Switzer. It's not changed by anything. Thank you, Tisha. A lot of buzzing going on with Chit Fain at the moment.
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
