Healy-Rae criticises Government's plan for short-term letting restrictions

James Cox

Minister of State Michael Healy-Rae has broken ranks with the Government over plans to tighten rules on short-term letting.

Independent TD Michael Healy-Rae said short-term lets are being wrongly blamed for the housing crisis and the clampdown will hurt tourism-dependent communities.

The plans include a new national register and stricter planning rules for short-term lets advertised on platforms like Airbnb, due to take effect from mid-2026.

Mr Healy-Rae said many rural properties won’t transfer to the long-term rental market.

He told Newstalk: "Taking a property out of long-term let, and putting it into short-term, doing that... now I have a problem with that.

"But what I don't like is moving the goalposts in the middle of the game. The traditional people who have been giving an excellent service, whether it's Irish people going on holidays, or people coming from abroad... they're providing a service."