THERE are 17 times the number of properties in Ennistymon on Airbnb than are available for long term lets. This huge disparity of 627 Airbnb properties compared to 36 long term lets was highlighted by Clare senator Roisin Garvey. Addressing Minister of State at the Department of Housing Peter Burke, Ms Garvey asked for action to limit AirBnB’s impact in Clare, while she said the means of calculating what areas are Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) is flawed. Regarding AirBnB, Ms Garvey said, “I draw the Minister of State’s attention to figures I gleaned from Airbnb and Daft.ie. I put in 16 October and looked up Ennistymon, one of the closest towns to where I live. There were 627 places for Airbnb but in all of County Clare, there were only 36 places to rent. “To be clear, Airbnb has a very important part to play in the tourism sector but at the same time, we need to find a balance …
Read More »People ‘booted out’ for short term rentals in North Clare
THE lack of houses available to rent around North Clare is causing huge stress for people, who find it extremely difficult to get a place to live, says Councillor Liam Grant. “It’s definitely the number one thing people ask me about. In an act of desperation they come to me to ask if I know of anywhere to live and I have to disappoint people all the time. It gets to me, it’s very sad. I hate that I can’t help them with it,” he said this week. During the summer time the situation is particularly acute, he says, while businesses in the area are facing labour shortages due to the lack of accommodation. “You have a lot of people commuting to North Clare for work now. You’ll find a lot of people have accommodation until May but then they’re booted out for short term letting, so they have to leave. “It’s very difficult for people to get anywhere to …
Read More »Short-term lets creating ‘stark’ housing situation in Clare
THE housing crisis in West Clare, and elsewhere, is being worsened by short-term letting, a meeting of the Council has heard. A motion was tabled, at the December meeting, by Councillors Cillian Murphy, Tony O’Brien, Alan O’Callaghan and Pat Hayes calling on the Minister for Finance to look at a tax policy solution to encourage a switch from short-term to long-term rental. Outlining the situation, Councillor Cillian Murphy said that a search of Daft.ie had shown a total of 1,830 properties to rent nationwide. Of these, four were in Ennis and its environs; one in Lahinch; none in Ennistymon or Lisdoonvarna; two in Kilrush and its surrounds; none in Kilkee and six in the Shannon area. The Fianna Fáil member contrasted that situation with short-term letting, as revealed by the ‘Inside Airbnb’ research. “Across the whole country, there are 15,851 entire homes or apartments available for short term let on Airbnb,” he explained. “6,420 of those are operated by hosts …
Read More »Miltown prepares to welcome Knockalisheen visitors
THE book club in Miltown Malbay, which is made up of 12 women, met six weeks ago to discuss the possibility of doing something for asylum-seekers living in Direct Provision in Knocklisheen, Meelick. The group decided that, as some of them have Airbnb accommodation, they would offer families in Knockalisheen a two-night holiday in Miltown. Over the past few weeks, this plan has become a reality. “We meet with the families – made up of 76 individuals, including eight single women, mums, dads and children,” book club member Lorna Cahill explained. “Over half of the 76 people we met are children. We met them every Wednesday and, sometimes, twice weekly. The purpose of our meetings is to plan the holiday, with complete consultation, to get to know the families and build relationships and trust. This has proven extremely successful so far. “As families cannot cook for themselves in the centre, the main focus has been acquiring self-catering accommodation. We have …
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