Irelands Short Term Rental Industry 2024
Report by Jim Power Economist
ContentsABOUT IRISH SELF-CATERING FEDERATION (ISCF) 2
KEY POINTS. 3
SECTION 1: TOURISM IN THE IRISH ECONOMY. 6
SECTION 2: SELF-CATERING IN IRELAND.. 9
SECTION 3: IMPENDING REGULATORY CHANGE. 16
SECTION 4: THE OPERATING ENVIRONMENT FOR SELF-CATERING OPERATORS. 19
SECTION 5: THE FUTURE FOR SELF-CATERING SECTOR.. 21
REFERENCES. 24
ABOUT IRISH SELF-CATERING FEDERATION (ISCF)
The Irish Self-Catering Federation (ISCF) is the sole representative and lobbying body for owners of self-catering properties in Ireland. Its aim is to promote and defend the interests of self-catering property owners and give voice to issues affecting the sector. The Irish Self-Catering Federation, Company Limited Guarantee is a company limited by guarantee and incorporated under Irish law under company no. 359394 and having its registered office at 18 Sruth Mhuilleann, Durrus, Bantry, Co. Cork VISION OF ISCF ‘To increase national and international consumer awareness of the range and value of Irish self-catering sector throughout Ireland while pushing for equal representation and exposure for self-catering within the tourism industry. MISSION OF ISCF To promote and protect the interests of our members by:- Representing Irish self-caterers by proactive lobbying on a national level to ensure equal representation for our sector in the tourism industry.
- Offering business networking opportunities.
- Providing online support forum where any paid member can reach out to all other members with any industry related issue or problems.
- Member’s access to industry presentations and face to face meetings with industry trade suppliers.
- Collaboration with other industry Federations to provide networking opportunities regionally, nationally and at EU level.
- The property and gardens/grounds and any facilities should be presented and maintained to the highest standard of decor and cleanliness.
- The owner/manager should provide an excellent service to guests, from initial enquiry to booking, providing full information on terms and conditions, and arrival and departure details.
- The guests should be greeted by the owner/manager/caretaker or a suitably arranged method of key collection agreed with the guest.
- Following on the information given at the time of booking, the owner/manager should present excellent information on local amenities and provide essential telephone numbers and information for the guest’s enjoyment.
KEY POINTS
This report was commissioned by the ISCF to examine the economic and social impact of the self-catering sector in Ireland. The report seeks to be as objective as possible. It uses and interprets officially published data where available and possible; it uses data provided by a survey of members conducted by ISCF in the second quarter of 2024; it uses data published by the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC) and Failte Ireland; it quotes anecdotal evidence; and international research. Several relevant stakeholders were also interviewed. Tourism and related activities make a very strong contribution to Irish economic activity. The particular importance of the sector is that much of the employment and economic activity is spread around the rural and regional areas, as well as the large urban areas. The self-catering sector is a growing and is a very important component of tourism in Ireland and around the world. One of the complicating factors in quantifying the self-catering sector in Ireland is the lack of verifiable data that captures the entire market. With a proper registration system this difficulty would be overcome, but we do not have that yet. The sector is dominated by small operators. The survey of ISCF members suggests that almost 64 per cent of operators own 1 property and almost 92 per cent own up to 4 properties. There is a lack of a robust data on the Irish self-catering sector, and there are different measures and estimates from different sources.- The ISCF represents over 6,717 units. Both Fáilte Ireland and the ISCF are organisations where owners can obtain their STR Required Quality Assurance Certification. Data are fed into Fáilte Ireland every three months and are fed into the National Quality Assurance Framework (NQAF).
- CSO data show that in 2019, 10.9 million bed nights were spent by all overseas visitors on renting houses and apartments. This accounted for 15.6 per cent of total bed nights spent in Ireland.
- In a submission to the Joint Oireachtas Committee, Fáilte Ireland ‘scraped’ data from four of the largest online booking platforms operating in Ireland. It concluded that in September 2022, a total of 30,813 STTL properties were listed across the four platforms. For example, in the Kerry County Council area, which is a prime tourism area, 1,858 self-catering units were identified as being available for long-term rental. The removal of those self-catering units would have a detrimental impact on the tourism market in Kerry.
- Eurostat data show than in 2023, Ireland had 6.47 million guest nights in short-stay accommodation offered via the four collaborative economy platforms. We can quantify income. There are 2 types of incomes, the owner’s income and the money spent by guests in the community. – 6.47 m divided by 2 for shared room, with an average of €100 per night. The income is €323.5 Mil per annum from shared economy alone.
SECTION 1: TOURISM IN THE IRISH ECONOMY
Tourism is a very important component and driver of economic activity in Ireland. Its real significance is that it is a major engine of employment at a regional level and is consequently an important driver of the balanced regional economic growth agenda. Tourism helps to drive employment in several sectors such as hospitality and food, particularly in the locations and visitor attractions that are very popular with tourists. The revenue generated by both domestic and foreign visitors during their trip contributes to both the balance of payments and national accounts data. In 2019, the CSO Tourism Satellite Account estimated that there were 284,800 full-time equivalent jobs directly involved in tourism in Ireland, which represents a tourism share of more than 13 per cent of total full-time equivalent jobs in the overall Irish economy. This compares with around a 4 per cent share of all employment involved in Agriculture, a 6 per cent share of employment in Construction, and 12 per cent share of employment in the industry sector. When all full-time equivalent jobs in the tourism characteristic industries are included (adding those not directly involved in tourism), the employment figure rose to 351,700. Direct employment in the tourism sector derives from activities such as cultural and recreational; transport, rental, and leasing; passenger transport; and accommodation and food beverage services. In the second quarter of 2024, CSO data show that accommodation supported 58,400 jobs directly, and food and beverage service activities supported 125,700 jobs. In total, accommodation, and food and beverage service activities supported 184,100 jobs directly. In terms of tourism businesses an estimated 45,700 enterprises were involved in providing goods and services directly to tourism in 2019. Within this, there were 19,418 enterprises involved in accommodation and food service activities. In 2021, there were 19,361 enterprises involved in accommodation and food service activities. The CSO has developed a Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) methodology to measure the total contribution of tourism. The TSA methodology compiles data from both the supply side and the demand side of tourism within the overall system of National Accounts. This allows a country to determine a measure of Tourism Direct Gross Value Added (TDGVA), which is the component of output from the Irish tourism industries that is driven directly by tourism spend. Essentially it involves estimating all tourist related spending by domestic and foreign visitors within Ireland. TDGVA is calculated by reconciling the supply (the output of tourism industries) with the use (tourist consumption) side of tourism, so that the proportion of the output of the tourism industries that is accounted for by tourism expenditure can be estimated. The CSO generated an initial estimate for the TDGVA which calculates that tourism contributed €13.5 billion to the Irish economy in 2019, and this gives a ratio of TDGVA to total Gross Value Added (GVA) in the economy of 4.4 per cent. The main tourism industry contributors to TDGVA in 2019 in Ireland were accommodation services for visitors and food and beverage serving activities (€5.1 billion). Figure 1: Tourism Direct Gross Value added by Industry (2019 €m)
Source: CSO
The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media has high-level goals in relation to tourism. These goals are:- To support the sustainable growth of a competitive Tourism sector with a particular emphasis on supporting economic development in communities throughout the country, whilst protecting our environment and natural resources
- To promote North-South co-operation, within the context of the Good Friday Agreement and the Government’s Shared Island Initiative, particularly in the context of the work of Tourism Ireland
SECTION 2: SELF-CATERING IN IRELAND
One of the complicating factors in quantifying the self-catering sector in Ireland is the lack of verifiable data that captures the entire market. With a proper registration system this difficulty would be overcome, but we do not have that yet. CSO DATA CSO data show that in 2019, 10.9 million bed nights were spent by all overseas visitors on renting houses and apartments. This accounted for 15.6 per cent of total bed nights spent in Ireland. Table 1: Number of Bed Nights Spent in Ireland by Non-Residents on Overseas Trips
Source: CSO PxStat (TMA17)
Table 2 shows the reason for travel of those who stayed in rented houses and apartments. 23.3 per cent of bed nights were for business purposes, with the remaining 76.7 per cent for tourism and holiday purposes. Table 2: Number of Bed Nights – Purpose of Visit by Those Who Stayed in Rented Houses/Apartments 
Source: CSO PxStat (TMA17)
FÁILTE IRELAND ACCOMMODATION SUPPLY DASHBOARD The Failte Ireland Accommodation Supply Dashboard shows that there were 1,566 registered and approved self-catering properties and 8,131 bed spaces operating in the Republic of Ireland in 2023. Self-catering accounted for 33.4 per cent of properties and 3.5 per cent of bed spaces approved and registered by Failte Ireland at a national level.[iii] STR property owners can register their properties with Fáilte Ireland or the ISCF. The ISCF can approve their properties and give them their Quality Assurance Certification, which is recognised by Fáilte Ireland. Table 3: Registered & Approved Self-Catering Capacity 
Source: Fáilte Ireland, Accommodation Supply Dashboard.
According to the Failte Ireland research, average self-catering unit occupancy in 2023 was 62 per cent (compared to 58 per cent in 2022). The sector recovered faster than others after Covid and consequently there was less ‘headroom’ to improve significantly on an already good 2022.
International tourists occupied most bedspaces in the guesthouse, B&B and hostel sectors; the split between international and domestic Tourists in self-catering and caravan & camping was close to a 50/50 split. The two markets are equally important for the self-catering sector.
FÁILTE IRELAND ESTIMATES OF SHORT-TERM TOURIST LETTING PROPERTIES iV The Wild Atlantic Way area, now 10 years old has few hotels, and depends on Self-catering in rural areas for accommodation. The region is worth 3 billon per annum to the Economy and over 35,000 jobs. In a submission to the Joint Oireachtas Committee[iv] estimating the number of short-term tourist-letting properties which may be suitable for long-term rental, Failte Ireland began by pointing out the limitations of collating data in the absence of a short-term tourist register or of any assessment of relevant properties by local authorities. It ‘scraped’ data from four of the largest online booking platforms operating in Ireland.
In September 2022, a total of 30,813 STTL properties were listed across the four platforms. Of these 16,865 houses and apartments were advertised on an ‘entire home’ basis. In Rent Pressure Zone (RPZ) counties, the estimated figure is 11,375 or 37 per cent of all STTL properties.
Table 4 provides the Fáilte Ireland estimate for STTL properties by county. It is important to remember that the number of properties listed can vary significantly, depending on the time of year. It is clear that STTL properties have a significant presence in the stronger tourism counties such as Clare, Donegal, Mayo, Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kerry and Wexford. Figure 2: Estimated STTL Properties per County 
Source: Fáilte Ireland
In the Failte Irelan submission, 10,731 STTL properties were identified as being suitable for long-term renting. The removal of this many STTL properties from the tourism market would have a devastating impact on tourism at a local and national level. Areas of the Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland’s most successful tourism marketing area is disproportionately represented. Table 4: Estimated STTL Properties per County that may be Suitable for Long-Term Renting 
Source: Fáilte Ireland
ISCF DATA Self-catering has been an integral part of the Irish tourism accommodation offering for generations. Many units were built in coastal tax schemes (Section 23) which were introduced in the 1980’s and 1990’s in rural areas along the seaboard. Since 2016 local Authorities have given STR designation to new builds which are to be used as short-term rental properties. Many of these coastal schemes have had grant support for building. Fáilte Ireland managed the self-catering sector up to 2008, when it decided to close down the information booklet on properties and the Gulliver booking system. Most self-catering owners could see little value in the Fáilte Ireland offering and left the support structure. The ISCF has over 6,700 properties throughout the country as members. The ISCF has data on all members, marketing agents and individual owners. All ISCF Data is being fed into the National Quality Assurance Framework (NQAF) managed by Fáilte Ireland. Self-catering is seen as very sustainable as it supports SME family businesses, mostly in rural Ireland; it provides employment; it supplements family income; and generates considerable revenue for local businesses in remote areas of Ireland such as the Wild Atlantic Way in Donegal, Mayo, Connemara, West Kerry and West Cork.
A breakdown of the number of properties in the ISCF membership is listed here by tourism region (Table 5) Table 5: ISCF Membership by Tourism Region 
Source: ISCF Membership data on CRN System, August 2024.
The ISCF has gained properties due to the following reasons.- ISCF is seen as the information hub for the STR Sector in Ireland.
- ISCF is the professional body regarding the Irish & Eu Law for STR Legislation advising government & STR owners in Ireland & EU.
- Uncertainty of STR Owners regarding the STR Bill and the effects thereof for their existing business.
Source: Eurostat
The Eurostat data show than in 2023, Ireland had 6.47 million guest nights in short-stay accommodation offered via the four collaborative economy platforms. This accounted for 0.9 per cent of the EU total. Of the short-stay guest nights in Ireland, 72.8 per cent were from international visitors. The EU average for international visitors is 62 per cent. For Ireland, the average number of guest nights per stay was 9, compared to an EU average of 11.
The breakdown of guest nights is only broken down on a NUTS2 regional basis. This shows that the Northern and Western region accounts for 31.9 per cent of total guest nights; the Southern region accounts for 37.8 per cent; and the Eastern and Midland region accounts for 30.3 per cent.
Sales of self-catering are direct, and indirect via local marketing agents as well as OTAs. The student accommodation sector can be rented short-term in summer months from June to the end of august. QUANTIFYING THE VALUE OF SELF-CATERING SECTOR The self-catering sector is dominated by small operators. The survey of ISCF members suggests that almost 64 per cent of operators own 1 property and almost 92 per cent own up to 4 properties.
There is a lack of a robust data on the Irish self-catering sector, and there are different measures and estimates from different sources as outlined in this section.- The Fáilte Ireland Accommodation Supply Dashboard shows that there were 1,566 registered and approved self-catering properties and 8,131 bed spaces operating in Ireland in 2023. The ISCF has its own listing of self-catering properties, and the ISCF data are fed into the National Quality Assurance Framework (NQFS) managed by Fáilte Ireland
- CSO data show that in 2019, 10.9 million bed nights were spent by all overseas visitors on renting houses and apartments. This accounted for 15.6 per cent of total bed nights spent in Ireland.
- In a submission to the Joint Oireachtas Committee, Fáilte Ireland ‘scraped’ data from four of the largest online booking platforms operating in Ireland. It concluded that in September 2022, a total of 30,813 STTL properties were listed across the four platforms.
- Eurostat data show than in 2023, Ireland had 6.47 million guest nights in short-stay accommodation offered via the four collaborative economy platforms. There are 2 types of incomes, the owner’s income and the money spent by guests in the community. – 6.47 m divided by 2 for shared room, with an average of €100 per night. The income is €323.5 Mil per annum from shared economy alone.
SECTION 3: IMPENDING REGULATORY CHANGE
The collaborative economy is growing rapidly across the EU. Short-term rental represents around 25 per cent of tourist accommodation in the EU, but the figure is much lower in Ireland. It provides opportunities for consumers, micro-entrepreneurs and SMEs. However, its rapid development is leading to challenges, particularly in popular tourist destinations. In response, cities and other communities are seeking to strike a balance between promoting tourism and its economic benefits on the one hand; and maintaining the integrity of local communities and housing markets on the other. The impact of short-term tourist letting on the availability of long-term rental properties is an issue of particular concern and complexity. EU REGULATION CHANGES Ongoing developments in the formation of Irish legislation should be viewed in the context of EU legislative developments. In February 2024, the European Parliament adopted harmonised requirements on how data related to short-term rental services should be collected and shared. The proposed regulation is intended to promote a transparent and responsible platform economy in the EU and protect consumers from fraudulent short-term rental offers. EU member states will set up a single digital entry point to receive data from platforms about host activity on a monthly basis (e.g. number of nights the unit was rented out, number of guests, specific address, registration number, URL of the listing). Gathering this data will allow authorities to monitor compliance with host registration processes and enable national authorities to implement suitable policies in the short-term accommodation rental sector.[v] It is estimated that short-term accommodation rental services account for about one quarter of total tourist accommodation in the EU. These short-term rentals generate benefits for hosts, tourists and many regions, but there is a growing belief that the lack of appropriate rules also contributes to problems such as higher house prices and rents, the displacement of permanent residents, over-tourism, and unfair competition. The register for STTL will give clear data on the self-catering sector, and all unregistered short-term accommodation. RENT PRESSURE ZONES (RPZ) A Rent Pressure Zone (RPZ) is a designated area where rents cannot be increased by more than 4 per cent per annum. RPZs were introduced in Ireland in 2016, but they commenced in different areas on different dates. The legislation was introduced in response to increasingly expensive rents that were making it difficult for people to find affordable accommodation. They were also intended to curb the number of properties opening in high density urban areas of Dublin on the OTA platforms. This situation has taken place as no Register was first introduced, as proposed by the ISCF in 2017. The RPZ legislation was aimed at high density urban areas and includes tourism towns such as Westport, Killarney and Kinsale. This legislation arbitrarily does not allow existing STR businesses to continue and does not allow existing businesses to get the STR Planning. This is resulting in the closure of many SME businesses, no matter how long they are in business or whether they are registered with Fáilte Ireland or the ISCF. This legislation has not improved the quantity of housing available and has damaged the overall rental market. THE SHORT-TERM TOURIST LETTING BILL (2022) IN IRELAND As part of the Government’s Housing for All plan, Fáilte Ireland is working to establish a new register of short-term letting properties with the goal of ensuring that housing stock is used to best effect in areas of housing need. Once legislation is enacted, property owners advertising short-term tourism accommodation for periods up and including 21-nights will have a statutory obligation to register their property with Fáilte Ireland. The Short-Term Tourist Letting Bill (2022) is making provision for the registration of short-term tourist lettings which arises in the circumstances where the quantity and type of accommodation offerings for tourists that are advertised as available outnumber those businesses that are registered and known to Fáilte Ireland. Any party offering accommodation on a short-term basis to tourists, referred to as ‘short-term tourist letting’ (STTL), will have to be registered on a register and hold a valid registration number issued by Fáilte Ireland. Where the accommodation does not appear on a register and no valid registration number is held, the proprietor and any person who promotes the premises will face prosecution where they provide, advertise, or otherwise offer such unregistered accommodation to tourists for periods up to 21 nights. The national online registration system will require all proprietors who offer STTLs to register all relevant properties annually. Once registered, each property will be provided with a Short-Term Tourist Letting registration number for use on all booking platforms and advertisements. Fáilte Ireland has stated that it will not investigate or enforce planning permission as part of the register. However, as part of the registration process it will ask property owners to confirm that they have the required planning permission in place. The information will be made readily available to Local Authorities (LAs) and Fáilte Ireland will act to remove properties from the register where LAs confirm that they do not have the requisite planning permission.[vi] Failte Ireland (January 2023) stated that to minimise disruption to the tourism industry, there will be a 6-month clarification period. This will allow those property owners operating in the sector to clarify their position in relation to relevant planning regulations, or for those to apply for change of use planning permission to continue offering their accommodation as tourist accommodation while their application is being considered and processed. The introduction of the new register will not alter or impact upon planning permission requirements. As short-term letting accommodation is vital for the tourism industry, Fáilte Ireland says that it will also continue to work with Local Authorities to ensure any housing stock that is not suitable for private housing may continue to be used for tourism purposes.[vii] Fáilte Ireland stated that once the register is introduced, capacity in the self-catering sector will fall significantly. It pointed out that it is important to stress the contribution of short-term letting properties to the tourism sector. This segment of the market is a valuable part of the accommodation mix to ensure that sufficient tourist accommodation is available in the State. Specifically, the tourism agency pointed out that locations across the country, such as The Wild Atlantic Way (North of Galway), Connemara, parts of the Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands and several smaller counties do not have sizeable hotel stock. The hotel stock has been further diminished by immigrant accommodation and there is no clarity on the STR units being rented. CASE STUDY: COUNTY KERRY In County Kerry, 1,858 units from the short-term rental offering have been identified as suitable for long-term rental. Each unit accommodates five people on average. If we assume a 50 per cent occupancy rate and an average weekly spend of €300 per person (not including accommodation costs), this will translate into a total spend of €72.4 million. If 1,858 short-term rental units were to be removed from the Kerry tourism offering, this would impose an annual loss of €72.4 million on the tourism economy in County Kerry. CASE STUDY: WILD ATLANTIC WAY We can extrapolate our calculations for County Kerry to the Wild Atlantic Way as a whole. In that region Failte Ireland has estimated the return of 6,585 short term rental units to the long term rental market. With similar occupancy and spending figures, the combined annual to counties along the Wild Atlantic Way would be €256.8mSECTION 4: THE OPERATING ENVIRONMENT FOR SELF-CATERING OPERATORS
The operating environment for self-catering businesses is challenging for a variety of reasons. Table 4 shows the number of Quality Assured properties who have delisted from the Irish Self-Catering Federation between 2022 – 2024. 129 properties have delisted in total, with Galway, Mayo, Kerry and Cork accounting for 63.6 per cent of the total. All four of those countries are strong tourism counties. The reasons given for delisting include:- Move to long-term rental.
- Retirement
- Decision not to rent anymore.
- Property sale.
- Owner / Family moving back into property.
- Availability and cost of insurance.
- Move to house immigrants.
- Impending changes to planning regulations.
Source: ISCF
In the survey of ISCF members carried out in the research and preparation of this report, several issues and challenges were highlighted by members of the Federation.
An important point to note is that the operators of short-term self-catering businesses tend to vary widely in terms of operating model. Some are stand-alone businesses and premises that are used exclusively for self-catering holiday makers. Others are holiday homes shared with other holiday makers to earn extra income. The latter properties are certainly not available for long-term letting.
The key challenges highlighted by members of ISCF are as follows.- There are significant concerns about the impact of impending short-term letting legislation. Many fear that they will be forced to close their businesses due to planning regulations. There is also concern about the cost involved in ‘change of use’ Many operators have invested heavily in their properties but are now facing considerable planning uncertainty. Specific planning for short-term rental was not required in the past if it did not have more than four bedrooms and did not sleep more than four people per bedroom. Those operators will have to apply for planning permission once new legislation is enacted. This is creating massive uncertainty and nervousness across the self-catering sector.
- High levels of bureaucracy in dealing with registration bodies, such as County Councils, Fáilte Ireland, the Department of Tourism, the Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport & Media, the Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage, and Central Government.
- Government’s failure in the adequate provision of housing and the failure of county councils to get investment for water infrastructure and selling off council housing.
- Operation costs have escalated, in areas such as labour costs, energy, VAT, maintenance and repairs, insurance, and registration. It is a competitive market and margins are being squeezed, particularly in the quieter months when occupancy levels are lower.
- Difficulty in getting staff, particularly cleaning staff.
- Some short-term rental properties are in rural areas but are subject to RPZ rules. The border of 15 – 30 km around a central urban point are drawn on a map and effectively the businesses are arbitrarily closed, even if part of a rural family farm income. No STR development is allowed within this area, leading to stagnation in the sector.
- The trend away from ‘staycation’ and increased international holiday travel for the Irish market. However, self-catering attracts a lot of international visitors, as ‘cool-cation’ is now becoming popular due to rising temperatures in many traditional international tourist destinations. Such visitors now view Ireland more favourably and demand a high level of luxury, privacy and immersion in an unspoiled natural environment.
SECTION 5: THE FUTURE FOR SELF-CATERING SECTOR
Self-catering holidays are a key element of Ireland’s tourism offering. Its role is particularly important in an environment where there is a significant lack of tourist accommodation around the country due to under-investment in hotels; the removal of significant beds from the tourism market to accommodate immigrants around the country; and the change of planning allowing Bed & Breakfast and Guest Houses to be changed to private residential use. In its pre-Budget 2025 submission[viii], the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC) highlighted that Ireland’s over-reliance on tourist accommodation for providing shelter to Ukrainian refugees and international asylum seekers has greatly restricted the broader tourism industry. Fáilte Ireland estimates that it is costing downstream tourism and hospitality businesses as much as €1 billion in foregone earnings over an annualised period. Latest data from Fáilte Ireland show that 10 per cent of all registered tourism accommodation is contracted to the Government and therefore out of circulation for visitor use. Certain counties along the Wild Atlantic Way such as Clare (25 per cent) and Mayo (17 per cent) have a far higher figure and the data below does not consider non-registered tourist beds. This data does not include the unregistered Self-Catering, Bed and Breakfast, Guesthouses due to a lack of clear data. The impact on downstream tourism businesses is very significant. ITIC also highlighted the capacity issue arising from the Short-Term Tourist Letting Bill. This Bill has not yet been signed into law, but it is creating considerable uncertainty in the self-catering sector. ITIC argues that a ‘one-size fits-all’ approach risks reducing the number of self-catering tourism properties at the very time that it needs them the most. It is important to point out that the proposed legislation has been welcomed by the tourism industry. A register of short-term tourism lettings managed by Fáilte Ireland will provide transparency and regulation to the sector. However, it is the potentially onerous planning conditions required to be on the register that are causing operators’ concern. ITIC argues that a balance needs to be struck between the needs of long-term housing and short-term tourism rentals. Table 7 shows the number of guest nights spent at short-term accommodation offered via collaborative platforms. The Eurostat data show that the EU total increased by 16.5 per cent between 2019 and 2022, whereas there was a decline of 19.6 per cent in Ireland. This may be due to factors such as RPZs, the significant number of Government contracts and uncertainty about the future. It is a worrying trend, as short-term accommodation is an important element of Ireland’s vital tourism offering. Table 7: Guest Nights Spent at Short-Term Accommodation Offered Via Collaborative Platforms
Source: Eurostat
There needs to be a balance achieved between long-term rental requirements and tourist accommodation needs. The Register for STTL will provide better data on Ireland’s self-catering sector, as well as Guesthouses, Bed & Breakfast, hostels, Boat hire, and hotels. This will help policymakers to develop a balanced tourism offering in rural and urban areas. The Eurostat data states that the number of people staying in self-catering has reduced in Ireland as compared to Spain, Italy, France and Portugal. The reality is that the demand for tourism accommodation in Ireland will increase in the next decade, not least due to climate change. A wide range of choices, including the family friendly self-catering, needs to be nurtured and developed.
The ISCF data shows there is a concentration of self-catering accommodation along rural coastal areas, particularly the Wild Atlantic Way. In such rural areas there is a scarcity of hotel accommodation, as the financial viability of hotels in such areas would be very poor. To develop tourism in the more remote areas, support should be given to the development of micro tourism businesses such as self-catering. Linking marketing campaigns to a variety of tourism offerings by Tourism Ireland would increase the variety of guests who would consider a short break or holiday in Ireland, with a focus on sustainability.
The reality is that the provision of short-term letting properties plays a very significant role in the economic prosperity in many areas across Ireland and is crucial for the sustainability of Irish tourism. The needs to be an appropriate mix of long-term private rental and short-term letting accommodation.
Self-catering provides opportunities for consumers, micro-entrepreneurs and SMEs. The sector makes a significant contribution to businesses such as pubs, restaurants, tour companies, car and bus hire, local laundrette, local trades people boat tours, gift shops, aquarium, linen supplier, and hardware shop. Many tourists want self-catering for reasons of space, privacy, price and location.
Photo: John Ohle Photography;
For more information: Máire ní Mhurchú CEO ISCF – CEO@iscf.ie 087 3306 306 /
Derek Keogh Chairperson ISCF – derek@iscf.ie 087 619 4599