'Children growing up in hotels while tourists stay in homes': 2,000 ‘entire homes’ in Cork listed as short-term lets

Around 2,000 entire homes in Cork were advertised as short-term lets in the month of May, data has shown, as Cork TDs call on the Government to move faster on plans to turn these into homes.

A spokesperson for Fáilte Ireland provided figures collated from open-source data which has been ‘scraped’ from four of the largest booking platforms operating in Ireland: Airbnb, Booking.com, Tripadvisor, and VRBO.

Data showed that in May 2025, in Co Cork, approximately 3,200 short-term lets were advertised. Around 2,000 of those were advertised as ‘entire homes’.

They added: “[Short-term let] properties advertised vary from houses and apartments to B&Bs, guesthouses, log cabins, huts, boats, RVs, etc. They can include properties that are being offered on a shared basis [ie where the proprietor remains on the property and offers a room], as well as principal private residences being offered on a temporary basis while the proprietor is absent.

“It is important to note that the data is not verified and cannot be regarded as definitive, but it is the best available data pending the introduction of the short-term letting register.”

Social Democrats TD for Cork East Liam Quaide said there needs to be a better balance between tourism and housing in Cork.

“We have a whole generation locked out of being able to rent or buy a home, and that crisis is spreading to older age groups,” he said.

“Two thousand entire homes rented to tourists as short-term lets while we have young and middle-aged and older people homeless, or at risk of homelessness, is an unacceptable situation.

“The Government has failed to enforce regulations on short-term lets, such as Airbnb. We need a better balance between tourism and the need of workers and families to be able to rent or buy a home.”

Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central Thomas Gould said the current situation was backwards.

“Our children are growing up in hotels while tourists stay in homes,” he said.

“There are record numbers of people homeless and in need of a home and yet, if you want to rent an entire home across our city and county for a short-term stay, you’d have no problem. That is a scandal.

“For six years now, we’ve seen Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael issue press statements and do videos claiming they’ll be tackling this. Six years and house prices and rents in Cork continue to skyrocket, alongside the number of short-term lets.”

Tourism minister Peter Burke said in the Dáil recently that work on drafting the Short Term Letting and Tourism Bill is currently under way, and he expects it will go through the full legislative process in the Oireachtas later this year.

The bill will see the introduction of a register for all short-term lets in Ireland, which will be implemented and managed by Fáilte Ireland from May 20, 2026.

Short-term let hosts offering accommodation for periods up to and including 21 nights will be obliged to register with Fáilte Ireland, confirm their compliance with planning requirements, and hold a valid registration number that must be displayed when advertising their property.

The advertisement of a short-term let unit by a host without a valid registration number will be an offence that carries a Class A fine (a fine not exceeding €5,000), 12 months’ imprisonment, or both. Fáilte Ireland will have the power to issue fixed payment notices to short-term let hosts as a means to enforce compliance.