Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 28 September 2022
68. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he has a strategy to ensure the owners of holiday rentals rooms, such as those listed on a website (details supplied) are incentivised to make those rooms available to accommodate families who are on social housing waiting lists. [46979/22]
View answerMy focus in relation to the matter referred to in the question is to ensure that accommodation is the rental sector is orientated towards overall need in the sector. In this regard the Government's housing plan, Housing for All, contains a specific action (Action 20.4) - to “develop new regulatory controls requiring short-term and holiday lets to register with Fáilte Ireland with a view to ensuring that houses are used to best effect in areas of housing need”. Funding was allocated in Budget 2022 to Fáilte Ireland which has been tasked with the design and implementation of a new short term lettings registration system. The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media is also presently scoping out the legislative provisions that will be required to underpin the new Failte Ireland registration system with a view to these provisions being enacted in 2022.
As an interim measure and pending the establishment of that registration system, Section 3A of the Planning and Development, Maritime and Valuation Act 2022 provides for the introduction of a new regulatory regime in relation to the short-term letting sector, specifically non-principal private residences advertised for letting in the designated Rent Pressure Zones. However, the provisions cannot come into effect until supporting supplementary regulations providing for the detailed operational arrangements in relation to the proposed measure are made and signed into law.
My Department is presently engaging with the relevant stakeholder groups on the detailed operational arrangements that will apply in relation to the proposed measure to be incorporated in the required supplementary regulations. It is intended to conclude the consultation process as soon as possible. My Department is also engaging with the European Commission on the legislation under the notification requirements of the Technical Regulation on Information Society (TRIS) Directive, which engagement is ongoing.
In relation to social housing, a key priority for this Government is that everybody should have access to sustainable, good quality housing to purchase or rent at an affordable price, built to a high standard, and located close to essential services, offering a high quality of life.
The Government plans to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 per year over the next decade. This includes the delivery of 90,000 social homes, 36,000 Affordable Purchase homes and 18,000 cost rental homes by 2030 and Housing for All is supported by an investment package of over €4bn per annum.
Under Housing for All, the Government will deliver 47,600 new build social homes and 3,500 social homes through long-term leasing from 2022 to 2026. In the same period over 29,000 affordable homes will be delivered including 18,600 affordable purchase homes and 10,400 cost rental homes.
