According to Fáilte Ireland, the number of tourist beds being used to house international protection applicants and refugees from Ukraine has dropped by 50% since the summer of 2023, reports Breaking News.
New data released by the national tourism development authority shows that, by November 2025, a total of 54,460 beds were under State contract, marking a decrease of approximately 11,000 beds, or 17%, from the previous year.
Of these, around a quarter were contracted through Fáilte Ireland-registered tourism providers, totaling 12,884 beds, down by nearly 5,000 compared to November 2024.
The remaining 41,576 beds are located in non-registered properties, with Fáilte Ireland estimating that up to 20,800 of these would typically be used for tourist accommodation, reports Breaking News.
Fáilte Ireland’s latest report also states that 5% of all registered tourism beds are still under State contract, a significant drop from the 13% peak in the summer of 2023., reports Breaking News.
However, some counties are still facing a high proportion of tourist beds unavailable for their traditional use. These include Wicklow (13%), Louth (11%), Clare (11%), and Meath (10%). At one point, the share in County Clare reached as high as 33%.
Other key counties like Cork (8%), Mayo (6%), Dublin (5%), Kerry (4%), and Galway (3%) have also seen a percentage of their tourist beds contracted for State use. Notably, no Fáilte Ireland-registered accommodation providers are under contract in Laois, Longford, or Roscommon, reports Breaking News.
The report emphasized the importance of having a comprehensive register of all tourism accommodation, noting that for every bed contracted in Fáilte Ireland-registered properties, there is at least one more contracted in unregistered sites.
The proportion of tourist beds under State contract has been steadily declining since June 2023, with the peak number of beds contracted reaching almost 84,500. While Fáilte Ireland had previously warned that the loss of tourist beds could have a major economic impact, estimating potential losses of up to €1.1 billion annually, it now considers the situation “no longer critical” due to the reduction in contracted beds, reports Breaking News.
This downward trend in the use of tourist accommodation for housing refugees and international protection applicants is expected to be welcomed by tourism businesses, who had raised concerns about the government’s heavy reliance on the sector.
Looking ahead, a new national mandatory registration system for short-term lets will launch in May, requiring properties listed on platforms like Airbnb to register with Fáilte Ireland. The Short-Term Letting and Tourism Bill will also impose restrictions on short-term lets in towns with populations of 20,000 or more. Properties advertised on short-term rental platforms will only be allowed if they have a valid registration number from Fáilte Ireland, reports Breaking News.
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