The Minister for Housing, Eoghan Murphy, has been urged to heed the recommendations of the Housing Committee before publishing his proposals for dealing with the regulation of the short term letting sector and "not capitulate to Airbnb".

Making the call, Sinn Féin Housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin said: "There is speculation that the Minister for Housing is set to finally publish government proposals to regulate the short term lettings sector.

"Interestingly, this news coincides with a new lobbying campaign by Airbnb where the company claims that: 'Analysis of Dublin rental income vs potential Airbnb income shows that you need to host for around 160-180 days in a year in order for it to be more lucrative to put your property as a short term rental than a long term rental'.

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"The Minster must pay attention to what the cross party Oireachtas Housing Committee report recommended on the matter before publishing any regulations.

"In October 2017, the Committee produced a report which recommended that the time period should be 90 days or less. While Sinn Féin's own proposals went further, suggesting that for hosts seeking to let out their principle private residence for more than 60 per year, planning permission should be required.

"The Housing Committee and Sinn Féin recommendations in no way seek to prohibit those using short term letting platforms in the spirt of which they were intended.

"However, there is a problem with commercial landlords and professional hosts with multiple listings using platforms like Airbnb to circumvent planning regulations and maximise profits.

"In areas such as Dublin 1, 2, 7 and 8, there are indications that the increasing prevalence of short term rentals is impacting the supply of housing in the private rented sector.

"I am strongly urging Minister Murphy to take another look at the suggestions made by us and the Committee before rubber stamping the industry proposals that are currently on the table," Deputy Ó Broin concluded.

(MH/LM)