Plans to introduce a long-awaited national register for short-term lets such as Airbnb have been delayed following a Cabinet row over late-stage amendments linked to planning law.
According to the Irish Independent, Enterprise and Tourism Minister Peter Burke had been due to present the Fáilte Ireland-managed register to ministers at Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, but the item was pulled from the agenda at the last minute.
According to government sources, tensions arose when the Department of Housing sought to introduce unexpected changes to the proposals. These were understood to relate to new planning regulations that would be needed to enforce a planned ban on short-term rentals in towns and cities with populations over 10,000.
Minister Burke is said to have hesitated to bring the updated proposal forward without adequate time to examine the fresh changes, particularly as they fell outside the core remit of the Fáilte Ireland register.
The register itself is designed to…
