The government must legislate against the out-of-control number of AirBnBs and vacant homes across Ireland, according to Social Democrats housing spokesperson Rory Hearne.
Deputy Hearne said:
“Today, we’ve heard two interconnected stories which highlight the utter disaster of the housing crisis and the failure of government housing policy.
“Threshold has shown that more than 8,600 second homes are advertised on AirBnB, whose report outlines that short-term lets now outnumber homes to rent by four to one, while some counties have 25 times more AirBnBs than long-term rental units.
“There are 2,555 families homeless – the Dublin Region Homeless Executive has said today that destitute children are being pushed into rough sleeping as emergency accommodation fails to meet rising demand.
“We could house all 2,555 homeless families three times over in the number of AirBnB properties let out on a permanent basis. In Kerry, there are now thirty-one AirBnBs to each home.
“Young people, and increasingly middle- and pension-aged people, are locked out of long-term rentals and home ownership while thousands of these homes are available as short-stay accommodation – this is worsened further by the thousands of vacant homes littered around the country, which the government has taken to action to remedy.
“This state was founded on the concept of public or common good, but it is clear from the hoarding of empty properties in the middle of a housing crisis that this principle has been lost.
“Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael showed their hand when they bowed to the Healy-Rae lobby and changed proposed short-term let restrictions to exclude Killarney and other towns of over 20,000 people from being affected.
“The mask has slipped; the government cannot keep selling the tall tale that these changes are in the interest of the greater good.
“The government must change its course when it comes to housing policy and legislate against AirBnB’s disproportionate presence in the market and the hoarding of vacant properties across the country.”
March 13th, 2026