Galway housing activists to hold Airbnb walking tour over short-term lets

Activists are hoping to put pressure on the Government to ensure stricter rules on short-term lets. File picture: Sasko Lazarov

An 'AirB&B walking tour' in Galway City is being held by housing activists to raise awareness of the effect of short-term lets on housing supply.

Organisers behind the demonstration, from housing groups Threshold, Tinteán, and Catu, are hoping similar protests will be held in other cities.

The tour begins at the Liam Mellows statue on Eyre Square at 2pm on Saturday, and will take in the "worst black spots" for short-term lets in Galway.

Activists are also hoping to put pressure on the Government to ensure stricter rules on short-term lets, including a register, are enforced as quickly as possible.

The Government's Short-Term Letting and Tourism Bill, which is expected to come before the Dáil on Tuesday week, is being introduced alongside planning regulations that will place greater restrictions on short-term accommodation, such as Airbnbs.

In areas with populations greater than 20,000 — including Dublin, Cork, Limerick, and Galway — local authorities will be barred from granting new planning permission to convert properties into short-term lets.

A national register for short-term lets, overseen by Fáilte Ireland, will require anyone letting out a property for more than 21 days a year to sign up from December 1.

Although there is already a requirement for short-term lets to ensure they have the appropriate planning permission, it has not been enforced effectively by local authorities.

The Department of Housing told a committee that in the seven years that planning permission has been required for short-term lets in use for more than 90 days, around 1.3% of all such properties have applied for it as of May 2025.

Of that number, 186 planning permissions have been granted, or a 43.6% approval rate.

Cat Clark, Threshold's campaign officer, said that they expect the register to effectively enforce planning rules on short-term lets in Galway.

"We really wanted to see this bill enacted. It could be such a home-saving measure," she said.

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"But we saw a lot of inertia and inaction. We really want to see it in as soon as possible."

She said the walking tour aimed to highlight places like Galway "where the impact of short-term lets is especially felt".

When the register and legislation are enacted, she said they would "hope to see accommodation return to the long-term rental market".

Threshold cites data that there were 1,249 short-term listings by a host with more than one listing, compared to 218 properties in Co Galway advertised to rent on Daft.ie.

This compares with 701 short-term listings in Cork and 365 properties to rent on Daft.ie; and 1,997 short-term lets in Dublin and 1,263 properties on Daft.ie.

"That is a huge amount of housing supply that is ready to go," she said.

"It would definitely alleviate homelessness and the rental pressure in Galway City."

Cian McCarthy, from Galway City who is a member of Catu, said they had a working group to get other cities — as well as tourist hotspots such as Kerry and Clare — to organise similar campaigns.

"Because Galway is so compact, it's really good for it — most people in Galway live near an Airbnb," he said.

"There is a particular area where the place is riddled with AirBnBs, it's pretty shocking really."

The Department of Enterprise, the lead department on the bill, has been contacted for comment.