'We won't be able to retain people': Leitrim councillor calls for balance on Airbnbs

It was revealed last week that Leitrim had significantly more Airbnb properties than houses to rent, with 87 short-term properties available and just seven homes to rent long-term, according to Threshold.

Concerns have been raised about the pressure that the rise of short-term lets puts on the rental market in the county.

Leitrim Councillor Enda McGloin has said there is a balance that Airbnb’s are needed in the county to protect the tourism sector in the county.

“We have to, in the absence of a fairly decent amount of hotel numbers, we have to be cognizant of the fact that we have to have bed nights to be able to service that industry,” he said.

Significant investments have been made into tourism infrastructure in Leitrim in recent years, with greenways and blueways, but a lack of hotels for visitors is a challenge to the sector.

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“We're going to be in a scenario where we won't be able to retain people to live within the county for a couple of days … we need Bed Nights to do that, and to allow them to flex their spending muscle.” ​

The local county council has little ability to affect whether people use their homes for Airbnb or not, according to the Fine Gael Councillor.

New regulator rules limit the number of AirBnBs that can operate in towns were passed in the Dáil last month.

Originally, the regulations were going to affect towns over 10,000 people; however, they were watered down to only affect towns with populations above 20,000, and therefore, they are effectively unregulated in Leitrim.​

“That's a personal choice of many people. I'm not sure how it can be dealt with, but the government have assessed the situation, and they've balanced this against tourism versus the need for permanent housing.”

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“I suppose the argument at the end of the day is that for a lot of people who own a property, there's potentially more to gain from Airbnb rental than there is from private rental. That's an issue the government themselves are going to have to deal with."

He stressed that the significant price difference between building a new home and buying a second-hand home is a problem in supplying the market.