Number of hotel beds under state contract for asylum seekers falls by 10%
Seán McCárthaigh
At least 4,900 beds have become available again for the tourism industry over the past year as the number of beds under State contract to house international protection applicants and refugees from Ukraine has fallen by 10 per cent.
An analysis of official figures by Fáilte Ireland shows a total of 51,617 beds were under State contract at the end of May 2026 – almost 5,800 fewer than the same month in 2025.
The latest figures reveal that the vast majority of contracted beds – 82 per cent of the total – are in properties not registered with Fáilte Ireland as providing tourist accommodation.
Such properties provided accommodation for 42,507 in May 2026 – an annual decrease of two per cent
However, Fáilte Ireland estimates that up to 21,200 of such beds were likely to have been used to provide accommodation for holidaymakers, if they were not being used to house asylum seekers and refugees.
The number of beds in Fáilte Ireland registered properties was 9,110 last May – an annual decrease of 35 per cent.
The finding means that an additional 4,900 beds have come back into regular use in the tourism sector over a 12-month period.
According to the latest analysis of figures provided by the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, just 3.7 per cent of all tourism bed stock registered with the tourism development authority is under State contract to house international protection applicants and refugees.
The figure is highest in Louth at 10 per cent, followed by Wicklow (9.4 per cent), Meath (8.2 per cent) and Offaly (6.9 per cent).
The figures for counties with high visitor numbers include Mayo (5.2 per cent); Cork (five per cent); Kerry (3.6 per cent), Dublin (3.5 per cent); Galway (2.6 per cent).
Three counties have none of their Fáilte Ireland-registered tourist beds available – Laois, Longford and Roscommon.
In summer 2023, there were 16 different counties that had 10 per cent or more of their registered tourism bed stock unavailable for their traditional use.
The figure was as high as 33 per cent – one third of all tourist beds – in Co Clare at one stage.
“The percentage of Fáilte Ireland overall registered bed stock under State contract has fallen steadily from 13 per cent to 3.7 per cent,” the report observed.
It pointed out that a phased withdrawal of State-contracted commercial accommodation is underway and due to be completed by March 2027.
The ongoing reduction in the number of tourist beds under contract is expected to be welcomed by tourism businesses which had expressed concern about the Government being over-reliant on the tourism sector for housing Ukrainian refugees and international protection applicants.
A national mandatory registration system for all short-term lets operated by Fáilte Ireland will come into effect on December 31st 2026.
By that date, all hosts offering tourist accommodation for periods up to 21 nights must register each property annually.
Property owners and websites that advertise short-term lets will be fined if the properties being advertised do not display a short-term letting registration number
Online booking platforms like Airbnb and Booking.com will also be obliged to only advertise properties that have a valid registration number from Fáilte Ireland.
The Short-Term Letting and Tourism Bill will also place restrictions on short-term lets in towns with a population of 20,000 or more.
