Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I am keenly aware of the challenges facing owners of thatched buildings in securing insurance for their homes and premises. I am also concerned to do all I can as Minister of State with responsibility for heritage to address the problem. Both Heritage Ireland 2030, the new national heritage plan, and A Living Tradition, the new vernacular built heritage strategy, contain actions to address the issue of insurance on protected structures including thatched buildings. On 10 December 2021, I launched A Living Tradition, a strategy to enhance the understanding, minding and handling of our built vernacular heritage. My officials have been working hard to implement the various actions and increase the profile of this significant part of our national heritage. Action 6 of A Living Tradition is to "enhance the protection and conservation of historic thatched roofs." One of the most persistent issues for built vernacular heritage is ensuring the survival of these buildings. The many factors involved make this a complex matter. However, the importance of such roofs, in terms of archaeology and architectural history, vernacular crafts and materials, botany and biodiversity, and their contribution to traditional landscapes is such that everything must be done to address the various threats they face. Insurance in particular has proved to be a significant problem for many owners. As Minister of State for Heritage I am determined to do everything I can to support thatch owners and ensure the preservation of this national resource.

I commend the initiative of the Thatch Property Insurance Action Group in bringing attention to this issue and I welcome a delegation from the group to the Public Gallery. My officials are in direct contact with representatives of the group, keeping them up to date on steps taken so far and providing practical assistance where possible. The Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, and I met with Ciarán McDonnell, Eoin Darby, and Katie McNelis, representatives of the group last week.

We had a very useful exchange of ideas about the best way forward.

Thatch insurance is a long-standing problem but owners have found it increasingly difficult in recent years to insure their buildings at an affordable price. Work is almost complete to establish the facts of the situation in respect of which companies are prepared to provide insurance, the affordability of premiums, the terms and conditions of policies, and what insurers perceive to be the barriers to providing affordable cover. The issue of insurance for thatched buildings took on new urgency in May 2022 when one of the main brokers in the Irish market, OBF Insurance, ceased to provide cover to new customers. My officials have engaged with this broker and they are very much aware of, and concerned about, the difficulties experienced by thatch owners. The broker was forced to close its books to new policies when, following a series of high-value thatch losses due to fire, its thatch underwriter decided it would no longer take on new policies.

Since May, existing policyholders have in general been able to continue insuring their buildings with their current provider, although in some cases the premiums are very high. However, between May and August, there was a period where those seeking to take out new policies were unable to find a provider. In August, a wholesale insurance provider, O’Callaghan Wholesale Insurance, began to write new polices. While the premiums offered may be considered high, at 1% of the reinstatement value, the provision of new policies is welcome and may allow owners to draw down mortgages while work continues to improve the overall situation. Dolmen Insurance has also begun writing new policies and while for the moment its policies will not cover fire, the policies on offer may be of interest to some thatch owners. My officials have circulated these insurer details through the architectural conservation officers and heritage officers in local authorities and also to the Thatch Property Insurance Action Group.

My Department is also engaging with a wider set of stake holders to identify and support additional options for thatched property owners. My officials are consulting colleagues in the Department of Finance, Insurance Ireland, Brokers Ireland, insurers and brokers already in the market, and insurance providers abroad which are interested in entering the Irish market. To date, they have linked three interested UK providers with Brokers Ireland, so that these providers receive support and guidance on the regulatory process. It is expected that the introduction of new entrants would improve the availability of cover and put downward pressure on premiums.

We have also established a steering group expressly tasked with advising on thatched roofs. This group is chaired by a thatcher who is also a thatch owner, and includes a second thatch owner, a representative of the local authority architectural conservation officers, a representative of the local authority heritage officers, a representative of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage's thatching grants section, a representative of the Heritage Council, and a representative of the Northern Ireland Department for Communities. The remit of the steering group is to assist with implementation of action 6 of the vernacular strategy, and its first priority is to work to resolve the urgent issue of affordability and availability of insurance for thatched buildings. It will also examine other relevant issues, including thatching standards, training of thatchers and the availability of suitable thatching materials. The term of membership is three years, which is the duration of the vernacular strategy. I attended the most recent quarterly meeting and was heartened by the engagement and real world experience that was shared and the practical solutions discussed.

Under the oversight of this steering group, my Department is carrying out a national census of thatched buildings. Officials estimate that there are somewhere in the region of 2,000 thatched buildings, both historical and recently constructed, in Ireland. This figure includes the records for thatched buildings from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage and also thatched buildings that have been identified in surveys commissioned by local authorities. However, the various surveys used different methodologies and some are now up to 20 years old, so this figure cannot be fully relied on. To establish a baseline and assist the insurance sector in understanding the scale of the market, my officials are undertaking a national survey to ascertain the number of thatched buildings, both historical and modern, across all counties. Buildings with thatch under tin roofs are included in this survey as I understand that thatch under tin is categorised in the same way as thatched buildings for insurance purposes.

In addition to putting together statistics on thatched buildings, my officials have sought the facts on the current insurance situation by circulating a targeted and tailored questionnaire to the owners of thatched buildings. The questionnaire seeks to establish whether the property is domestic or commercial, insured or not insured and, if so, the current annual premium. To date, the survey has had an excellent response rate of 497 returns, which my officials estimate represents approximately a quarter of all thatch owners in the country. The questionnaire also gathers data on the fire prevention measures that owners may currently have in place and how these correspond with the fire prevention measures required by various insurers. Information on the companies that are currently insuring the respondents is also returned in the survey. I am very grateful to all the owners who have taken the time to complete and return this important questionnaire. Work on analysing these data is ongoing and I look forward to seeing the results of this analysis at the end of this month.

Of the survey respondents, 414 expressed an interest in being contacted about joining a thatch owners group. My Department has distributed a leaflet to these owners on behalf of the Thatch Property Insurance Action Group. The leaflet invites owners to join a potential group insurance scheme, referred to by the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, which may enable them to secure lower premiums than they would by approaching insurers individually. I am pleased that we have been able to provide this practical support to what is a very worthwhile initiative.

My officials are also working with the national directorate for fire and emergency management, NDFEM, in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to examine the incidence and causes of thatch fires and explore how to mitigate fire risk in thatched buildings. Through the national directorate network, my officials have circulated a questionnaire to the chief fire officers in the local authorities to gather thatch fire data which are expected to be of assistance to the insurance industry, owners, historical building professionals and the local fire services.

To tie this work together, my Department has contracted a historical buildings expert to produce a report on the topic of thatch insurance. We received an interim report at the end of September and are due to receive a final report at the end of this month. This study will consider information received from the insurance industry, owners, fire officers and local authority heritage personnel on the incidence and causes of fire in thatched buildings. It will also examine research undertaken in other jurisdictions on fire prevention measures and explore how these could be implemented in the Irish context.

As we work towards solutions to the current problems, my officials will continue to engage with all relevant parties. We will continue to work with officials in the Department of Finance to facilitate current and possible new entrants to the insurance market. My Department will build on the dialogue and networks that have been established as a result of the survey of thatch owners and will continue to engage with the NDFEM, the building standards section in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, local authority heritage staff and fire officers. We will also seek to progress other thatch specific aspects of action 6 of the vernacular strategy, including the growing of thatching materials and setting thatching standards.

We know that in other countries thatched buildings are insured by commercial providers at rates which owners can afford, indicating that this is not an insoluble problem. The research undertaken by my Department indicates that work must done to improve fire prevention and mitigation in thatched buildings. The expert report, which will be completed at the end of this month, will contain findings that require further development and action, but initial indications are that there is scope to significantly reduce the incidence of fire in thatched buildings in Ireland. This is expected to reduce costs for insurers and, through commercial competition, to bring down premiums. We are aware that different insurers attach very different conditions to their thatch policies, indicating that there is no consensus in the industry on what works to prevent fire in thatched buildings. Authoritative fire prevention guidance for owners, occupiers and insurers that is tailored to the Irish context is essential.

My officials will draw up this guidance in conjunction with the NDFEM and the building standards section in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Following the principles of the Department’s fire safety codes of practice, the guidance will include advice on the management of fire safety and the prevention of fire, limiting the development and spread of fire and providing access and facilities for the fire services. As well as guidance for owners, my Department and the NDFEM will develop standard operating guidance for fire in thatched buildings. This type of guidance is intended for the fire services in local authorities. Recent research into firefighting in thatch indicates that improvements can be made that reduce both roof and building loss, while ensuring that human safety is paramount. This guidance is expected to reduce damage in cases where fire does break out, which would further reduce insurance costs and, ultimately, premiums.

While we develop this guidance, my Department will enhance its investment in the preservation and continued use of thatched buildings so that they remain a living part of our heritage and community life in the future. We already oversee a number of schemes to assist in the conservation of historical thatched buildings, namely, the built heritage investment scheme and the historic structures fund. To address the costs currently being experienced by thatch owners, my Department will in 2023, provide increased support for the maintenance and repair of historical thatched buildings. Through the built heritage scheme, a grant programme that is funded by my Department and operated by the local authorities, I have ring-fenced €500,000 for the repair and maintenance of historical thatched buildings. When added to the €500,000 that is available through the thatching grants scheme open to both historical and modern thatched buildings, this will bring my Department’s support for thatch owners to €1 million next year. I hope this will alleviate some of the financial pressure they currently face.

In addition, we intend to review our thatching grants scheme in 2023 with a view to streamlining the grant process and ensuring that guidance is offered on how best to maintain the traditional character of the thatch.

I acknowledge that conservation grant funding does not directly address the issue of insurance in thatched buildings, but by making additional money available to owners for maintenance and conservation repairs, the Department is taking on a greater share of the overall cost of maintaining our historic thatched buildings, and covering works which owners would otherwise have to fund from their own pockets. It is essential to reduce the risk of fire and minimise losses where fire occurs to address the issue of insurance. This will reduce insurers’ costs and enable them to make reasonable commercial returns while charging affordable premiums. The initial evidence is that substantial improvements can be made in this regard. My officials will continue to work with owners, fire advisers, and the insurance sector to develop and disseminate research-based guidelines and reduce fire risk in thatched buildings.