The Green Party has stated that amending regulations around short-term rental properties will be ineffective unless the measures are properly implemented and monitored, reports Breaking News.
The party voiced frustration at the move to apply restrictions only to locations with populations of 20,000 or more, instead of the initially suggested threshold of 10,000, reports Breaking News.
Under the revised plan, just 24 towns and cities will be covered by the new rules.
Tourism Minister Peter Burke defended the adjustment, saying it is vital to “build resilience in our tourism sector”, reports Breaking News.
Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman told Newstalk that loopholes are likely to emerge regardless of the final decision taken.
“Enforcement is so important here, and that’s one of the things that’s been really lacking from the government over the last 12 months, a failure to enforce these new rules, even if they are introduced, even if they are watered down like the government is proposing, if they’re not enforced, then they’ll be of absolutely no use to anyone,” he said, reports Breaking News.
O’Gorman further argued that the policy reversal highlights what he described as the Government’s lack of understanding of the housing crisis in rural areas.
He said large parts of the country would gain no advantage from the changes, reports Breaking News.
“The housing crisis affects everyone, from inner city Dublin to rural Kerry; no one area is unaffected, so carving out 24 areas of the country where someone is more entitled to a home than somewhere else is actually reprehensible, and it’s definitely not standing up for rural Ireland or for those who want to live there,” he said, reports Breaking News.
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