Albert Dolan: Protect Rural Short-Term Lets and Galway Castle
Albert Dolan addresses short-term lets legislation and a vacant Galway castle in parliamentary remarks. He warns that a planning obligation linked to a register could burden rural operators and calls on Galway County Council to take immediate ownership and open the site.
Albert Dolan sets out concerns heard in the Enterprise Committee: operators are less worried about registration than the planning obligations that could follow. He argues that forcing planning conditions on many rural short-term lettings would be onerous for hosts and costly for local authority planning departments.
Dolan highlights the diversity of rural accommodation in East Galway - from granny flats to log cabins and teepees - that provides unique tourism options and would not simply convert into long-term rentals. He says this bill’s planning consequences need careful reconsideration to avoid unintended harm to rural tourism supply.
Dolan notes the decade of success behind the Wild Atlantic Way, citing the 2024 report showing about 3 billion euros in yearly revenue and 35,000 additional jobs. He uses that context to argue for preserving and activating local assets rather than letting them fall into disrepair.
Turning to a specific site, Dolan names a highly photographed Galway castle currently vacant under Shannon Group ownership. He urges Galway County Council to assume ownership and open the property this summer on a minimum viable basis to prevent decay, stressing that delay risks permanent loss of a key tourism asset.
Short-term lets and planning obligations
Albert Dolan sets out concerns heard in the Enterprise Committee: operators are less worried about registration than the planning obligations that could follow. He argues that forcing planning conditions on many rural short-term lettings would be onerous for hosts and costly for local authority planning departments.
Rural accommodation at risk
Dolan highlights the diversity of rural accommodation in East Galway - from granny flats to log cabins and teepees - that provides unique tourism options and would not simply convert into long-term rentals. He says this bill’s planning consequences need careful reconsideration to avoid unintended harm to rural tourism supply.
Tourism context and the Wild Atlantic Way
Dolan notes the decade of success behind the Wild Atlantic Way, citing the 2024 report showing about 3 billion euros in yearly revenue and 35,000 additional jobs. He uses that context to argue for preserving and activating local assets rather than letting them fall into disrepair.
A call on Galway County Council
Turning to a specific site, Dolan names a highly photographed Galway castle currently vacant under Shannon Group ownership. He urges Galway County Council to assume ownership and open the property this summer on a minimum viable basis to prevent decay, stressing that delay risks permanent loss of a key tourism asset.
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Transcript
Go raibh maith agat, Leas Ciann Comhairle. Minister, I'm just going to start off with the short-term lets right and as you know I'm a member of the Enterprise Committee where we've been considering the legislation and considering the conversations around it and one of the main things that consistently comes across from the industry is they're not really concerned with the register as such. They're very concerned with the implications that could follow on from the register if there is a planning obligation forced on so many of these rural lettings. I represent East Galway. We have a significant amount of fantastic short-term let options that provides accommodation that to be honest it wouldn't be there only for tourism. That accommodation is the type of accommodation that really this bill is not going to bring back in to long-term letting. Now I can understand the power of the bill that this can have on big cities in terms of bringing you know townhouses and apartments back in as long-term rental accommodation which they were originally built for, which they were originally given planning for but a lot of the units and dwellings and sort of granny flats and you know really creative ideas like teepee huts or like log cabins, a lot of these have been there for many years providing a unique form of accommodation and providing a unique experience and I think that whatever about the register that there needs to be serious consideration when it comes to the planning side of it because the obligation that it would put on these operators would be seriously onerous and from all the dealings that I've seen with local authorities is it would amount to a significant cost on them as well and it would also add to the local authorities workload in their planning departments also so that's an important consideration. One thing I want to say about tourism that was done really well over the last decade Falshire Ireland did an incredible job along with the local authorities of implementing designing and driving the Wild Atlantic Way. In 2024 Minister there was a 10-year report on the Wild Atlantic Way and that report showed that it drives an extra 3 billion euros in revenue per year and it has added an additional 35,000 jobs to the tourism sector so that's an incredible story but my question to you so Minister is the Wild Atlantic Way is so successful it has so much to offer why are we allowing the best most photographed castle in the west of Ireland one of the most photographed castles in Ireland to be left vacant and closed it's currently owned by the Shannon group they're looking to divest Galway County Council should take it over and should operate it but what I would ask you to do Minister and I know we've met you on this and I know you have it as a consideration and that you need other departments to roll in with you to make this a reality but in order but I do believe months have passed now in Galway County Council have not taken it into ownership if Galway County Council took it into ownership there is nothing stopping them from opening it over the summer on a minimum viable product basis and what that essentially means is it doesn't have to be perfect for us to open it and right now the longer it's left sitting it is rotting it is decaying and we will never be able to replace it so we're going to look back in history we're going to say we did a great job with the Wild Atlantic Way but the best castle on the route was closed. Go raibh maith agat.