Airbnb has said proposed new legislation that will restrict homeowners from letting out their properties short term will not deliver long-term rental units to help the accommodation crisis.
The Government wants to restrict the numbers renting short term on sites such as Airbnb and Expedia by introducing a registration system.
Minister for Tourism Catherine Martin previously said this could free up around 12,000 properties.
But Airbnb, Expedia and tourism operators say they are not convinced the properties impacted by the proposed new rules will become available for long-term housing.
Amanda Supples, Airbnb General Manager for Northern Europe, told the Oireachtas Committee on Tourism that "the existencee of conditions and barriers paradoxically takes people out of the market that you don't want to lose. Professional hosts stay because they can navigate burdensome rules. Everyday families earning €5,000 or €6,000 a year are the ones that leave, and that accommodation does not go onto the long-term market."
Derek Nolan, Head of Public Policy with Airbnb, cited research from Oxford Economics, commissioned by the company, which shows Airbnb supported over 4,800 jobs in Ireland last year.
He said the research also shows Airbnb-linked spending represents 10.5% of all international tourism-related spending in Ireland.
Mr Nolan said the majority of hosts are "everyday families who share their home for three nights per month. The typical host earns just over €5,600 per year. Over half say they board to meet the rising cost of living. One quarter are over the age of 60 and work in education, healthcare or hospitality."
Under the proposed scheme anyone offering accommodation for up to 21 nights will need to be registered with Fáilte Ireland before they can advertise online. This will lock anyone who does not have the correct planning permission out of the short-term rental market.
Mr Nolan said that while Airbnb supports a registration system, any laws requiring a change in planning permission for homes should be considered in the proposed new planning act which is currently being drafted.
System to cost rural economy €27m - ISCF
The Irish Self-Catering Federation, which represents 7,000 units, mostly in rural Ireland, said there is real worry in the sector that many of its properties will not get planning permission and will therefore not be available for holiday rentals.
The organisation estimates the new registration system will result in a loss of €27 million to the rural economy.
The ISCF says the legislation in its current form "will cause many second homes to lie empty in rural Ireland, drive the sector to be managed from outside the EU, and provide little extra urban housing."
Solveig Mayer, Director of Corporate and Government Affairs at the global online travel group Expedia, told the committee that the proposed system is "complex and burdensome and incompatible with existing and upcoming EU law."
Expedia wants an automated and online registration scheme in place across the European Union and is suggesting the Government put forward a system that can address what the company calls "the regulatory fragmentation in Europe."
A number of members of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC) outlined reservations about the scheme. The organisation wants different sets of rules to apply in urban and non-urban areas.
Eoghan O'Meara Walsh, Chief Executive of ITIC, said a system of registration should only apply in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway as "otherwise there will be material harm to the Irish tourism economy."
However, the proposed regulations do have support.
National housing charity Threshold believes that by regulating the short-term rental market, "a significant number of homes" can be returned for long-term housing.
Zak Murtagh, Legal Officer with Threshold, said the proposed €5,000 fine should be significantly increased to "incentivise compliance."
"The maximum sanction should be recalibrated to reflect the turnover of the websites who are advertising short-term letting." he said.
