88% increase in the number of entire homes on Airbnb in the Gaeltacht since 2019, data provided by Inside Airbnb to Conradh na Gaeilge and CATU reveals

The Gaeltacht is worse hit by the expansion of Airbnb than the rest of the country, with a 40.2% higher increase in the Gaeltacht than seen in Ireland nationally

Inside Airbnb have provided new data to Conradh na Gaeilge and CATU which maps the dangerous growth of Airbnb in the Gaeltacht, broken down by Gaeltacht Language Planning Area. The data shows that there was an 88.1% increase in the number of entire homes in the Gaeltacht between 12 May 2019, when the data was first scraped, and 26 September 2025, the latest date on which data was scraped.

This data was then compared to information collected in the Census regarding the status and type of occupancy in Ireland, to give a broader picture of the prevalence of short-term lets in the Gaeltacht. Some of the most significant findings are as follows:

• Nationally, there was a 47.9% increase of entire homes on Airbnb between 2019 and 2025. There was an 88% increase in the number of entire homes on Airbnb in the Gaeltacht, demonstrating that the Gaeltacht is disproportionately affected.
• The number of entire homes on Airbnb increased in 25 out of 26 Gaeltacht Language Planning Areas.
• The five largest Airbnb hosts in the Gaeltacht own 217 entire homes between them in the Gaeltacht.
• There are more entire homes on Airbnb than properties being rented longterm from private landlords (according to the 2022 Census) in 5 out of 26 (19.2%) Gaeltacht Language Planning Areas.
• In both of the Language Planning Areas in County Kerry, entire homes on Airbnb account for more than 16% of all private properties in the area.

Speaking about the data, Róisín Ní Chinnéide, Advocacy Manager with Conradh na Gaeilge said: 

“This data puts what we’ve been seeing on the ground on a statistical basis; that the Gaeltacht is being choked by Airbnb. Commodification has been at the core of government housing policies for a long number of years, and the viability of Irish as the spoken community language of the Gaeltacht is suffering as a result. We must be honest about what’s ahead: are houses in the Gaeltacht to be purely for profit, or to keep people safe, to preserve and protect our communities and our language? Short-term letting must be properly regulated as a matter of urgency, and there must be specific provision made for the Gaeltacht. 

We are very grateful to Inside Airbnb for the work that they have done on this, and we hope that this evidence will spark a serious conversation on the impact of Airbnb on our communities and our language. Not only in the Gaeltacht, but amongst other minority and regional language communities around Europe - in Catalonia, Valencia, in the Balearic Islands and in Wales - housing and language are intrinsically linked.”

Paul D’Eath, Committee Member of CATU Galway said: 

“These stark figures are reflective of what CATU Galway regularly sees and hears from its members. We have seen a marked increase in the number of our members facing eviction to make way for Short-Term Lets (STLs). The result is families made homeless, communities eroded and language and culture lost - all in the pursuit of profit. While STLs are contributing to the crippling housing crisis across the country, we see that it disproportionately affects Gaeltacht areas, threatening their very existence. 

We launched our Homes Not Holiday Lets campaign in early 2025 to bring attention to this issue and to put pressure on the local authorities to take meaningful action. We have been demanding that the limited legislation currently in place be properly enforced, that a cap on STLs be introduced, and the long awaited Short-Term Tourist Letting Register. There seems to be little political will, however, to tackle the problem. We need to see a step change in how this issue is addressed or our communities will continue to suffer."

All data is available on request.

Increase in entire homes on Airbnb in each Gaeltacht Language Planning Area 2019 - 2025

# denotes the number of entire homes on the dates that data was scraped

ONLINE: 

Instagram : @cnagaeilge @catugalway @catuireland 

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CONTACT: 

Róisín Ní Chinnéide 

Bainisteoir Abhcóideachta, Conradh na Gaeilge

+353 (0)83 4062131 | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Paul D’Eath

Committee Member, CATU Gaillimh

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EDITOR’S NOTE: 

Conradh na Gaeilge is the democratic forum for the Irish-speaking community, with over 200 branches and over 600 individual members registered around the world. Established in 1893, the organisation runs Irish-language courses; advocates for the language rights of Irish-speakers; raises awareness about the language; hosts the international Irish-language festival Seachtain na Gaeilge le Energia; manages the Irish-language information hub Scéal.ie and the Irish-language bookshop An Siopa Leabhar; supports Raidió Rí-Rá; and much more. More information: www.cnag.ie

Inside Airbnb is a mission driven project that provides data and advocacy about Airbnb's impact on residential communities. More information at https://insideairbnb.com/about/ 

CATU is an all-island community and tenants union. More information at https://catuireland.org/ 

Under the Gaeltacht Acht 2012, the Gaeltacht was redesignated into 26 areas known as Gaeltacht Language Planning Areas. More information at https://udaras.ie/en/our-language-the-gaeltacht/language-planning-areas/