Mayo SPC chair questions legal advice on proposed holiday home tax

A MAYO councillor has rejected legal advice given to Mayo County Council which stated that a proposed holiday home tax for the county would be 'unworkable'.

Westport-based councillor Peter Flynn told a meeting of the Strategic Policy Committee on Housing that they should continue to explore the possibility of introducing a holiday home tax despite contrary advice given by Mayo County Council's legal representative.

In a letter circulated to members of the SPC, Dermot Hewson, solicitor for Mayo County Council outlined that in his view holiday home type tax 'is simply going to be unworkable'. He added that the identification of a holiday home remains problematic as would the method of the recovery of the tax and concluded that 'I wouldn't be happy to recommend that the matter be pursued further'.

In response, Cllr Flynn who is the Cathaoirleach of the Housing SPC expressed disappointment at the legal advice and questioned if Mayo County Council was trying to thwart the proposal.

The Westport-based Fine Gael councillor said a recent report into short-term letting by the ESRI had highlighted that one in three properties in the Westport area are used for AirBnB and the council have to do something to tackle the problem.

“We are an outlier here and if we are waiting for the national government to fix it it will not happen. Mayo is in a unique situation in it has a huge proportion of holiday homes and a huge issue in terms of supply and we have an obligation to explore the option of implementing a tax,” he told the meeting.

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Cllr Flynn cited examples of councils in Gwyneedd and Dwyfor in Wales which he said introduced a second home tax in 2024 and claimed it resulted in property prices falling by 30 percent.

He suggested that if it was successful in Wales, there was no reason for it not looking into implementing it in Mayo.

“They have done it in Wales and I don't see us being greatly different in Ireland from what happened in Wales. I formally propose that we adopt a similar approach to what has happened in Wales which has made a huge impact on the local market. The last time I looked at it it brought the price of properties down by 30 percent in these towns in Wales.

“I am looking at houses going for €400,000 and €500,000 around our county and here we have an opportunity to implement a policy which can directly influence the housing supply. I propose the director of services come to us with a policy to be reviewed at our next SPC meeting,” he commented.

He received support from Independent councillor Michael Kilcoyne who also rejected the legal advice received by the SPC and suggested they seek independent legal advice on the matter.

Padraig Heverin, representing the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) felt that the legal advice was 'black and white' in that the proposed tax was unworkable and questioned how successful it would be in freeing up property.

Foxford-based councillor Neil Cruise also asked what would the long term benefits of the tax be and would it ultimately free up property.

Cllr Flynn replied that the tax would not prevent people from having second homes or using AirBnB but any revenue collected would remain in the respective municipal district.

“I am not saying this will be the silver bullet which will fix the housing situation in Mayo but we will have to start thinking radically in how to bring more supply into the market. The way the markets have been distorted through short term holiday homes has messed up the supply in this county disproportionately.

“This has never been done in Ireland before and would be a pilot for the country and the only way to test it out is by implementing something which will get people to sit up and consider options,” he said.

Director of Services, Tom Gilligan reiterated the legal advice that the proposed tax would be unworkable but stated he would be happy to work on a policy for the next meeting.

“We have to do something and I’d rather die trying than die wondering and despite the advice I am happy to take up the gauntlet and run with it and see what we can do,” he said.