There are eight times more family homes on holiday rental site Airbnb as are available for long-term renters, an Irish Mirror investigation has found.
An analysis of Airbnb showed there were more than 8,100 full properties - suitable for families - around the country.
Yet there are only 1,175 for long-term rental on the top property website Daft.
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The figures are revealed as the numbers of homeless reached a record high of over 12,000 - with families making up the largest rise.
The increase, which includes nearly 4,000 children, comes after the government lifted the eviction ban.
Housing expert Rory Hearne told The Irish Mirror our analysis shows lucrative Airbnb is taking a lot of homes from people that should be available for long-term rent.
“It is contributing significantly to the housing crisis,“ said Hearne.
“The use of homes as short-term tourist lets is a major problem. Across the country, people tell us landlords are evicting and then use the property as short-term Airbnbs.”
Earlier this year, it was revealed a landlord of an apartment block in Dublin had evicted tenants in 2022 and claimed he was selling the property.
But the council found he was using it for unauthorised holiday letting.
Owners of short-term lets located in Rent Pressure Zones - areas such as Dublin, where high rents are curbed - must apply for planning permission from local authorities.
This is unless it is their own home, which they rent out for less than 90 days a year.
We found examples of a number of hosts on the platform who had more than one letting available on the dates we selected at random around the Dublin area.
Rules governing short-term stays came into effect in 2019 - but Hearne says these are regularly ignored.
Tighter legislation that could see an estimated 12,000 homes come back onto the long-term market has been delayed.
Research by the Irish Mirror found there were 964 entire properties in Kerry, 772 in Mayo, and more than 1,000 in Donegal available, for future dates in November.
There were 400 available in Dublin, with many costing over €500 for one night.
Out of the 26 counties, 15 had more than 200 entire properties available for the time period we selected.
But Daft had only 25 properties for renters looking for long-term accommodation in Mayo - where Airbnb rentals can go for up to €300 plus a night.
Social policy academic and author Hearne, said: “There are key things the Government could do, like reinstate the eviction ban. They should treat this like an emergency which they haven’t done up to now.”
Airbnb would not reveal how many entire properties are regularly rented out and said this data was commercially sensitive.
It would not provide information on how many homes were the owner’s primary residence - which they may rent for a few weeks a year while on holidays - and how many are properties that could be available full time to house families.
Sinn Fein housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin said they should be compelled to release it.
“They should be required under law to publish information that allows government to know exactly what is happening and where.
“It has a direct impact on the ability of our planning authorities to plan appropriately.”
Airbnb said: "Airbnb is built on the foundation of helping people afford their homes and making communities stronger; we oppose any activity that contradicts these values. We take housing concerns seriously and continue to support the introduction of new rules for our industry, including a host register.
The Department of Tourism said the introduction of the short-term letting register (STTL) - expected at the end of this year - will give an “accurate picture”.
“Published lettings do not confirm whether a property is a primary residence or otherwise, and as such the proportion is not known.
“This category of data will be collected as part of the STTL registration process.”
The registration is currently held up in EU red tape, with the Department meeting Commission chiefs in the coming weeks to speed it up.
The Department of Housing said: "It's important to remember that there are regulations currently in place, subjecting short-term lets in RPZs to planning permission requirements. Local authorities are responsible for the enforcement of these regulations and can take legal action if a property does not have the required permission, or where terms of the permission have not been met."
Dublin City Council said: "We routinely carry out extensive searches on online letting platforms such as Airbnb, Booking.com etc."
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