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WITH RENTS IN Dublin now averaging €500 above the boomtime figure, and just 3,070 properties available to rent across the country at the beginning of this month, pressure is mounting on Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy to take drastic action.
It’s been suggested that one quick-fire way to get rental stock back to a functioning level is to encourage or force landlords using AirBnb to get back into the normal rental market.
With AirBnb revealing this week that 640,000 guests will use the service in Ireland over the summer, Labour Senator Kevin Humphreys has insisted now is the time to follow in Berlin’s footsteps and bring in strict controls on short-term lets.
Such measures in the German capital brought 2,500 long-term rentals back onto the market over the course of a year, he said.
This isn’t a new idea. In fact, ever since Ireland’s homeless and housing crisis hit the headlines, there have been calls to deal with the lack of regulation of short-term lets.
It now looks like the minister will move to introduce regulations like so many other cities around the world, with suggestions a 60-day limit could be imposed on short-term rentals in Dublin. That means landlords could only earn money from guests sought out through websites like AirBnb for two months of the year.
In a letter to Sinn Féin’s Housing spokesperson, the minister confirms that proposals for a new licensing scheme will be brought to Cabinet for approval during September, “which should provide further clarity on the next steps and timeline to progress the matter in facilitating a more managed approach to short-term tourist lettings around the country”.
It adds that the new rules will also recognise the role of short-time lettings in the provision of tourist accommodation and reflecting the significant economic value generated by the sector.
Airbnb has previously said it welcomes talks on clear home sharing rules for Irish hosts. Earlier this summer and after almost two years of discussions, the company expressed concerns over the slow pace at which home sharing rules in Ireland are being developed.
The company said it has not seen any details of the proposals in Ireland.
On the proposed new regulations, a spokesperson for Airbnb told TheJournal.ie said:
We want to be regulated and have long-welcomed talks on clear home sharing rules. As the travel industry grows, home sharing ensures local families benefit from visitors to Ireland – not just hotel chains – and that tourism euros stay in local communities. We look forward to seeing the details of these proposals and to continue working with the government to support Irish people-powered-tourism.
Lobbying power
But, why has the government been slow to act?
Lobbying, could be one answer.
Since 2016, the Lobbying Register lists 49 instances in which AirBnb lobbied officials.
One of the first meetings took place at Airbnb’s European headquarters on 21 January 2016 in which Airbnb executives met with Minister for Tourism Shane Ross, as well as his special adviser and the Assistant Secretary General of the department.
The meeting was to discuss “measures [which] should be pursued to ensure Airbnb’s continued growth in Ireland, how it can be used as a solution to issues of capacity and spread of tourism across all parts of Ireland”, according to the lobbying return.
At the opening of their new offices, the company also lobbied Mary Mitchell O’Connor, the Minister at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the time about Airbnb as a business and the “positive impacts home sharing is creating in Ireland”.
Blueline Consulting, acting on behalf of its client AirBnb, are listed as lobbying Dublin City Council in 2017 on the “current data on the impact of home-sharing in Dublin City” with a discussion taking place on Airbnb’s work internationally with municipal bodies to ensure responsible hosting.
In the same year, the company met with ministers and opposition TDs to discuss “ short-term lettings and home sharing in Ireland, it’s positive impact as well as ongoing Airbnb initiatives”.
Meetings were held with Junior Housing Minister Damien English, Deputy Chief Executive of Dublin City Council Brendan Kenny, Fianna Fáil’s Housing spokesperson at the time, Barry Cowen, TD Pat Casey, and Eoghan O’Brien, Councillor for Fingal County Council.
This year, the company also emailed its Insights report to the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, and Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy, among many other TDs and ministers.
Calls for meetings with Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy
Q4PR, acting on behalf of its client AirBnb, called Minister Murphy to request a meeting be set up with AirBnb officials. This meeting did not end up taking place.
The PR company also spoke with the minister’s special adviser, Jack O’Donnell, to request a meeting with him. This meeting subsequently took place directly between Airbnb and Jack O’Donnell.
Sensing that the writing is on the wall in terms of some sort of regulation coming down the line for the industry, AirBnb held meetings with a number of ministers, councillors and Murphy’s special adviser this year.
The meetings were to discuss “the analysis and background of home sharing in Ireland and the need for a fair approach to the industry”.
Attendees included Minister Ciaran Cannon, Minister Pat Breen, Minister Brendan Griffin, Senator Kevin Humpreys, Fine Gael TDs Maria Bailey and Noel Rock, as well as Fianna Fáil’s Robert Troy. The company also met with Cllr Anne Feeney, Cllr Deirdre Heney, Cllr Denise Brophy, and finally, Minister Murphy’s special adviser Jack O’Donnell.
On that issue of lobbying, Airbnb said it wouldn’t have anything to add beyond what the lobby return itself outlines.
Concerns about AirBnb
As far back as 2014, there have been concerns about AirBnb and short-term lets impacting on the normal rental sector.
That year there were reports in the US that tenants were being evicted so landlords could use AirBnb. This was the same year the company announced that it was doubling its workforce in at their European HQ in Dublin.
As AirBnb became more popular, the Revenue Commissioners moved to clarify Ireland’s ‘Rent-a-Room’ tax relief to ensure that hosts on rental sites like Airbnb were officially liable for tax on that income.
Then in 2016, in one of the most high-profile cases, Dublin City Council ruled an apartment in Temple Bar listed on the site was not exempt from the requirement to get planning permission because of the change of use.
It forced the then-Housing Minister Simon Coveney to state that his department would look into clarifying guidelines on when a rental property becomes a commercial one.
The following year, with the rental crisis growing, the minister set up a working group to review if new regulations should be introduced for short-term letting websites.
When Eoghan Murphy took over as housing minister, he issued a circular to local authorities stating that apartments situated in rent pressure zones are not appropriate for Airbnb use. He also received the working group’s report, though it has yet to be published.
Earlier this year, John-Mark McCafferty, CEO of national housing charity Threshold, told TheJournal.ie that, during a time of “historically low supply” in the private rental sector, “Airbnb is taking up a share of units that would otherwise” be in the private market.
Sinn Féin’s housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin, meanwhile, said there’s a “real frustration” with government’s lack of action on the issue, despite it being flagged for at least two years now.
With AirBnb latest report showing the business is thriving, juxtaposed with this week’s Daft.ie report that shows the rental sector is continuing to spiral out of the control, the minister might see it as a ‘win-win’ move to be seen as the man that took on AirBnb.
Meanwhile, Senator Humphreys has called for Airbnb to release the number of Irish properties listed on their website.
“If we want to tackle the negative impact short-term rentals are having on home availability, we need to know the scale of their use.”
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Good to see but what are the other 25% doing there?
@Rochelle: working?
@Rochelle: some of us have to go to work, you can also go for a walk a long as you practice social distancing.
@Rochelle: Listen i wouldn’t know but people still have to go into town to get substances, addiction doesnt stop because of quarantine
@Rochelle: massive fail missus!
Be careful if you are walking in these areas. Footfall way down. Funding way down for those funding alcohol/ drug addiction. My friend accosted by 3 guys yesterday screaming at her for money. No one around to assist her so she just gave them all the money she had. Dangerous aspects to this too
@Getaldine Byrne: shocking hopefully she went to the Gardai. There is good surveillance in the City centre the Gardai would identify them fairly quickly if they are using homeless shelters… if they get are allowed get away with this there will be more victims… needs to be stamped out like the virus
@Getaldine Byrne: No crowds means no easy targets for pick pockets. Drug addicts will become increasingly more desperate. Neighbourhood WhatsApp groups are a great way of keeping everyone informed about criminality in your area. Don’t make it easy for the criminals.
Apparently a factory worker in Galway, who also does taxi, was tested, told to isolate, stayed working and now has tested positive. Should get jail for that
@Declan Edward: Sure aren’t we letting the prisoners out…. Its only the over 70s we are locking down!!
@Declan Edward: If that’s true, he’s probably just put the final nail in the coffin for Galway’s taxi drivers, who were already really struggling. I think he should be prosecuted.
@ImYourNumber1Fan: charged with assault for every passenger he carried .
@ImYourNumber1Fan: now it could also be false, but I’ve heard it from someone close to the situation and from another working in the factory
Same in Galway, I think. The town was pretty much empty yesterday but still a surprisingly large number of beggars on the streets, all from one non-Irish country. Saw them arrive yesterday, congregate in a group of 12 for about 30 minutes and then take up their positions along the streets of Galway (they always sit in the same places).
@ImYourNumber1Fan: and you don’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to work out which non irish nationality that is……
@Ray Ridge: They’re Romani, if that’s what you’re implying. Romania has a large population of Romani but not all Romani are Romanians and vice-versa.
@Conor Craddock: if it says Romanian on their passport…..they are Romanian.
@Ray Ridge: but not necessarily Romani, as your post inferred.
@Ray Ridge: But not all Romanians are of the Romany people. By your logic, all Irish people are the same as T ravellers then.
@Claire O: I never said all Romanian are Romani….I said all Romani are Romanian. Come on folks at least read the posts before commenting. As I said whatever is on your passport is your nationality.
@Ray Ridge: I can see your point but you should therefore also see that by referring to them as a nationality, it implies everyone from that nationality as opposed to a subsection from that specific country – original poster just said they were from a certain country and everyone knew what he meant without assuming he meant the entire population. If you don’t see it that way, well ok then, we shall agree to disagree. Stay safe & healthy!
@Ray Ridge: All Romani are *not* Romanian! The Romani originate from the northern Indian subcontinent, from the Rajasthan, Haryana, and Punjab regions of modern-day India. (Wikipedia)
@FrustratedASDMum: All the Roma gypsies from Romania….. Are Romanian. These are people I’m chatting about. You get it or you don’t.
@Ray Ridge: For some reason im in the mood for Raman.
Good sign but need to do even more in coming days
Now we know why it’s called the “Grafton Quarter”
@Darren: Haha that’s actually funny!!
I got ridiculed for saying the parks should be shut. They are next. Obviously no one out had nurses doctors or front line people in their immediate family, they’d have known better. Businesses like bars and restaurants have already closed , Chippers and coffee shops are only asking for people to come out. Shops only stock the essentials. Anyone going out for a 99 needs their head read. I haven’t seen my folks in 3 weeks. I’ll be damned if I lose them because some tosser feels the need to bring his kids to the park then complains that it was too packed.
@Martin McFly: people should go out as long as they stay well away from others , as me and my wife do , it’s crazy just staying in just stay away f on others
@bmul: there were traffic jams in Wicklow , Phoenix Park, Howth, all the usual spots. If anyone out was diagnosed tomorrow with COVid 19. Including yourself. , and you’ve to give a list of all the places you’ve been in the last 2 weeks… get the picture. People living in the countryside couldn’t get to their own quiet secret parks because they were packed. 1-2-4-8-16-32-64-128- and it goes on and on. That’s the slowed down maths.
Excellent people are doing what’s required. The sooner we tackle this virus crisis, the sooner these shops can reopen. Reading this article makes me proud to be Irish when you see the way it’s being handled in the UK.
@John C: maybe before you get on your high house look at what went on yesterday on the prom in Galway and surrounding beaches packed no social distancing.
@John C: The UK definitely isn’t perfect but remember all the Irish that thought it was cool to go to Cheltenham, then the queue of people waiting for fish n chips in Howth yesterday and all the dumb publicans opening up back doors in pubs all across the country. Yeah, the Irish are great
@bmul: I’m not on any high horse. People will always behave differently some will comply with what is required while others won’t. Most sensible people will take the advice from their government and try to follow it as best they can. The issue here is the proper advise and the lack of it from the UK government. Stiff upper lip and all that .. old chap.
@Gerard McAuliffe: yes, but the article would indicate that at least 75% are doing the right thing.
@John C: Northern Ireland are in the UK and they are doing much better than we are in relation to number of cases per head of population.
@Ray Ridge: that’s because they aren’t testing as much. The best way to see what’s going on is to look at the deaths per population.
Were doing slightly better than NI on that statistic.
@Ray Ridge: no they aren’t. I’m up at the sharp end of it.
@John Murphy: Not sure where you got the statistics to show we are doing more testing than they are doing in the North……not sure looking at deaths is the best way to look at it…..whether you live or die from the virus once you have contracted it isn’t really down to government policy or social distancing……however the number of cases is directly linked to how we act and behave. So absolutely the number of cases is a better way to assess a nations performance. But yes your right this is of course directly linked to the number tested.
@Patrick Agnew: less cases per head of pop in the north…… Unless you have figures relating to the number tested North of the border as opposed to the numbers tested here in the south??
@Ray Ridge: the number of completed tests in Northern Ireland as of yesterday was 1,816, or roughly 1 per 1,000. Ireland’s figure currently stands at over 11,000 as of 2 days ago or roughly 2.3 per 1,000. So, yes, we have been far better at testing. Roughly twice the rate.
Sorry now, I’m going to have to rant….what’s the story with smyths staying open….such a magnet for kids and they just having doors open letting people in not a bother….just shut it down, so annoying driving by and seeing people in and out
@Mark Murphy: But where will people get their pokemon cards?
Meanwhile…… Footfall at supermarkets and beaches and parks up by 75%. Its all a waste of time unless we introduce total shutdown for a minimum of 21 days.
@Ray Ridge: please explain what you mean by total shut down a lot of people using this Lovely sound bite but what does it mean.
@bmul: Nobody allowed out except emergency response crews Medics and police. Get enough supplies in for 21 days. It’s all or nothing. The time for half measures has passed.
@Ray Ridge: so no one building ventilators or other devices needed world wide , no farmers , no petrol stations, no carers , no food shops
@bmul: No couples out for leisurely walks………as i said no body out except those in emergency and essential services. There will be very few ventilators needed if people do what they are told to do.
@Ray Ridge: How do you “get enough supplies for 21 days” if you’re, let’s say, a single parent family on a zero hour contract or relying on social welfare? How do you pay for it?
@FrustratedASDMum: you contact your local charities and arrange for them to deliver the essentials via the gardai. It’s already happening.
@Ray Ridge: so when the rest of the world comes looking we say sorry where closed , we make medical products for the whole world , as for couples going for a walk I do everyday with my wife we stay a long way from anyone else.
@Ray Ridge: How in God’s name would charities manage this? If we look at lone parent families *only*, according to the Dept. Of Social Protection (2017), there are 56,000 lone parents in receipt of One-Parent Family Payment. There are thousands of other people/families who wouldn’t be able to afford 21 days worth of supplies for various reasons. Charities couldn’t manage this and the gardai are under resourced as it is without having to take on the role of a grocery delivery service for thousands of households.
@bmul: we should be closed until this emergency has passed. I’m not suggesting we shutdown for ever.
@FrustratedASDMum: Look I’m not saying you lock your doors and windows and suffocate and starve to death for God sake…………but we cannot carry on packing out supermarkets, and promenades and parks caravan parks like is currently happening or we are all just wasting our time
@Ray Ridge: What you’re describing Ray is martial law. It’s a big card to play and an extremely dangerous one.
This isn’t a totalitarian military state, we can trust our people to do the right thing, people have to live too, you know. Taking your child to the park is good for both the parent and the child, just keep more than 3ft away from other people, it’s not a super virus that hunts it’s prey.
@Sean Fahey: 2 metres is approximately 6 and a half feet….. Not 3 feet. You see the problem with that is if everybody brings their child to the park its impossible to obey the distances. Also we cannot trust our people to do the right thing unfortunately….. 18 people threw out of a house party by gardai in a Midlands town to give you just one example.
@Ray Ridge: I agree Ray we can’t get everyone to comply without forcing them, there are also varying advice on “safe” distance, but for the most part we have to trust people. In instances of mass gatherings that you mention, bring in emergency legislation to fine the property owner €1,000 per attendee if there are more than 3 visitors at any one time. Should knock it in the head fairly sharpish.
Any fines that are collected go towards buying the ventilators to offset the recklessness.
My husband has to go to work he reckons they could stop by this Friday…mortgage, Bill’s the list is endless However were not alone we are all in this together ..stay safe everyone
Good
Wow, really scraping the barrel now ehhh… Real Sherlock Homes stuff this…
“What do religious believers do, especially at a time like this? They pray for God’s grace, that He may bring good from bad, and yet more good from what is already good” David Quinn on Twitter
@John Devaney: The rest of us just get on with it…
Limerick City centre has been like this for 15 years but the government never seemed too bothered about it.
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