152. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the way in which the new short-term letting regulations will return vacant homes to the rental market; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48050/26]

323. Deputy Aisling Dempsey asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will address issues (details supplied) in relation to the Draft National Planning Statement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48428/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 152 and 323 together.

The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment (DETE) has drafted the Short Term Letting and Tourism (STLT) Bill General Scheme in full alignment with the EU Short Term Rental Regulation. The introduction of the STLT Bill will provide a more effective legal and administrative basis to regulate short term lettings. This Bill when enacted will provide the statutory basis for the introduction of a register for all Short Term Lettings in Ireland, which will be implemented and managed by Fáilte Ireland.

In line with the proposed introduction of DETE’s STLT Bill, all short-term letting accommodation providers will be required to register with Fáilte Ireland. As part of the registration process, accommodation providers will need to confirm that they are planning compliant.

The Planning Acts provide that the short-term letting of a residential property is a material change of use of the property concerned, thereby requiring planning permission, unless otherwise specifically exempted. A threshold-based approach to consenting by planning authorities is proposed to generally preclude new planning permissions for short-term lets in larger towns and cities with a population in excess of 20,000, amounting to twenty five towns at the most recent Census of Population. It is intended that accommodation providers in all other locations, i.e. outside the largest towns and cities, will be able to avail of an extended period to meet planning compliance requirements.

To ensure that there is a clear view, both at national level and local authority level, as to the overall policy approach to determining planning applications for short-term lets, my Department is currently finalising a National Planning Statement (NPS) on Short-Term Letting to supplement and support the introduction of the STLT Bill.

On 16 June, Government noted the draft NPS on Short-Term Letting. This draft will now be subject to a Strategic Environmental Assessment process and the EU Services Directive notification process. A finalised version of the NPS, having regard to the outcomes of the environmental assessment and EU notification, will require further Government approval.

Regarding bringing vacant homes back into use, working to end dereliction and vacancy is a key priority in the Government's new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities. The Plan aims to ensure that the activities and resources used to address vacancy and dereliction are co-ordinated and effective and that legislative powers are used proactively.

The Vacant Homes Action Plan outlines the range of initiatives and funding mechanisms that have been introduced in recent years and these measures are successfully reducing the levels of vacancy and dereliction across the country

A Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant was introduced in 2022, which provides a grant of up to €50,000 for the refurbishment of vacant properties for occupation as a principal private residence and for properties which will be made available for rent. A top-up grant of up to €20,000 is available where the property is confirmed to be derelict, bringing the total grant available for a derelict property up to a maximum of €70,000. In order to qualify for the grant, the property must be vacant for two years or more at the time of application.

In December 2025, I announced a new enhanced support package of up to €140,000 to bring vacant ‘above shop’ space in our cities, towns and villages into use as homes, which was launched on 1 April this year. I have also announced that additional funding for resources of up to €100,000 per annum would be made available to local authorities to support their delivery of the grant.

The CPO Activation Programme, launched in 2023, requires local authorities to take a proactive, systematic approach to identifying and activating vacant and derelict properties. It includes use of their compulsory purchase powers under the Derelict Sites Act 1990 and the Housing Act 1966, when engagement with the owners of these properties is not successful in bringing them back into use.