Gaeltacht areas have 100 times more Airbnbs to let than permanent rental properties, new data shows

The Gaeltacht in Co Kerry displayed the greatest number of available Airbnbs at the time, at 543, with not a single house available to house-seekers at the same time.

There are more than 100 times more Airbnbs within Ireland’s Gaeltacht regions than there are normal tenancy rentals, new data shows.

An investigation by TG4 of the rental market within Ireland’s various Gaeltachts shows there are more than 1,000 Airbnbs to be found within the various Irish-language regions across the country, compared to fewer than 10 properties available to rent for regular tenants.

That statistic is revealed within an investigative report by journalist Kevin Magee More set for broadcast on the Irish language station on Wednesday night.

The documentary, titled Nil Aon Tintean, sought to examine how Ireland’s ongoing housing crisis has impacted the native-speaking regions dotted around the country.

The proliferation of Airbnb rentals across Ireland versus the decline in regular tenancies is an oft-cited symptom of the chronic undersupply problems seen in Ireland’s rental market.

Airbnbs are typically seen as more profitable than long-term rentals given the higher rates that can be charged for visiting tourists and the constant turnover in lets.

The new investigation took a sample of Airbnbs and rental properties listed for let during August 2024 and found there were 1,017 houses listed for rent via the short-term letting site in the Gaeltachts, compared to just 10 houses available for rent in the same area at the same time.

The Gaeltacht in Co Kerry displayed the greatest number of available Airbnbs at the time, at 543, with not a single house available to house-seekers at the same time on rental site Daft.ie. There were 225 listed for rent on Airbnb in Donegal in the same week, and a further 221 in the Connemara Gaeltacht.

Interviewed for the programme, Connemara-based activist Donncha Ó hÉallaithe said people living in the Gaeltacht were being forced out of their local housing market by a glut of homes in the area being snapped up as secondary properties, which often double as Airbnbs.

“There are problems when houses come on the market here, because it's an open market,” he said. 

Because there is a housing problem all over the country, people are coming from other places and are buying these houses as a second home or as a holiday home or a home to retire in and so on. So that's pushing locals out of the market.

Mr Ó hÉallaithe said people who wished to settle and raise families in Gaeltacht areas were thus being forced to move and live elsewhere.

“Most of the houses available are on Airbnb. They are not available for people who want to rent long-term. People aren’t staying here anymore, they are leaving and when they go, there aren’t strong Irish-language communities in the places they go to and that is a loss for the Irish language and Gaeltacht communities," he said.

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Research by Gaeltacht State agency Údarás na Gaeltachta suggests nearly a fifth of homes within the Irish-speaking regions are holiday homes, many of which are available to rent when vacant on Airbnb.