Ms Katie McNelis:

I thank the Chairman and the committee for giving me the opportunity to come here today and speak about the petition I started in September 2021, which so far has gathered in excess of 1,000 signatures. I started this petition because I grew up in a thatched property in a rural village in County Tipperary. This property was also the family business, a public house which was run by my parents since 1976, at the time the third generation of our family to do so. Sadly, my father passed away in 2020, and in April 2021, my mother got a letter from her insurance brokers saying the underwriters would no longer provide insurance cover as they had withdrawn from the Irish market. I stepped in at this point to help my mother to try to find insurance cover. I contacted many insurance companies and underwriters, but nobody would take the cover at an affordable price. She had a commercial and thatched listed public house which she then could not open. I have had many brokers searching to see if they could get anyone to take her policy. I have had refusals from all insurance brokers, companies and underwriters, with the majority stating they just do not cover such risks.

One company stated it would only quote if the thatch property was residential and not commercial. Regrettably, the decision was taken to close the pub this year and to try to get domestic insurance as there was the only one remaining company taking on new clients. No sooner had we closed the business than this company had closed its books to domestic thatch properties, stating its quota for thatch cover was full. My most recent rejection was in August this year, stating the company was not suitable for us as the property was owner-occupied. I have contacted the Central Bank, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, Insurance Ireland, the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman, Brokers Ireland, my local heritage officers, county councillors and politicians, but no one seems to be able or willing to do anything about insurance for thatch properties.

I have requested that the building be removed from the protected structures listing to see if we could change the roof to get insurance, but to date we have had no response. I must stress this is not something our family wishes to do, as my parents have proudly and lovingly maintained this thatch property at great a cost to themselves down through the years. Removing the thatch is a last resort, but at present this may be the only way to get insurance. As it stands, with the property classed as a listed building, should anything happen to it, my mother would be obliged by law to return the building to its listed state at her own cost. If my 81-year-old mother failed to do this, she potentially could face two years in jail and-or be liable for a fine of up to €12.7 million, as stated in the Planning and Development Act 2000. In the 46 years since my parents took on the family home, they have never made a claim. During this period, they have on three occasions completely replaced the thatch roof to maintain it and our heritage to its highest standard. My mother has had no cover since July 2021, which I know is a huge worry for her and for me. She is afraid to have anyone in her home in case they have an accident and make a claim. That is just not living. Covid-19 was enough isolation for anyone, but this is worse because something can be done about it.

I am here today because all of the groups I mentioned above are clueless on how to resolve it and offer no support. If our Government cannot resolve it, then we may as well say goodbye to our thatch heritage. Currently, insurance companies are not breaking any rules. There needs to be a change for heritage properties. Even before my mother’s policy lapsed, it was always difficult to get affordable insurance. Brexit made this worse, and what few companies there were have since closed their books one by one, reducing the insurance market, driving prices up for those lucky enough to have insurance on a thatched property, and ultimately leaving many in a thatched property with no insurance. This is what drove me to start this petition. Little did I know that it is affecting so many people in Ireland. I am only one individual, but I know I speak for many - people who have strong desires to maintain their heritage, at great cost, and at the same time are being punished for doing so.

I reached out to others via social media and many people began to contact me. This led to the Thatch Property Insurance Action Group being formed. The group’s aim is to drive awareness and campaign for a resolution to the thatched properties insurance crisis. There is a problem with a lack of insurance availability and affordability in Ireland. Any person whose insurance has lapsed, became unaffordable or could not avail of it previously cannot get insurance for their thatched property. The impact of this is that if people accept the risk, it may lead to thatch properties being unable to be freely bought, sold or maintained. This is an urgent and immediate matter that could cost the nation our traditional built heritage. There are many other issues regarding thatch that were looked at in the past in a report commissioned by the then Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government in 2005. This report has remained on paper.

Thatch is one of 45 sectors in Ireland where insurers will not provide cover. Our group looked at options in other countries like the UK, where the insurance sector, in conjunction with the Government there, worked on schemes to make the flood cover as part of home insurance more widely available. Could a similar scheme for thatch properties be investigated here? We want to see action now so that we protect, appreciate and maintain our heritage. If things do not change with thatch insurance, there is a chance there will not be any thatch left in the country. If we do not have action now, our thatch heritage could be gone within a generation.