West Clare Councillor Urges Government To Regulate Short-Term Lets As Businesses

A West Clare councillor is urging the government to view short-term lets as profit-making businesses instead of as side income and regulate them accordingly. Figures from Inside AirBnb show there are 28,497 properties listed on AirBnb for short-term rental in Ireland while there are 1,518 in Clare. Meanwhile, research carried out by Oxford Economics shows travel on AirBnb in Clare was worth €25 million last year and accounted for 67% of AirBnb income in the Midwest region. Kilkee Fianna Fáil Councillor Cillian Murphy insists far from being a simple additional money-making venture for property owners, short-term lets are extremely profitable businesses which must be regulated as such.