Mr. Peter Boland:

Obviously it is interesting to note that, essentially, the Government could compel incumbent insurers to insure thatched cottages but we do not believe that is commercially feasible. We want to see it coming from the insurers themselves. It is a slippery slope if we start compelling on something like thatched cottages because the temptation would be to expand it to many other areas and other entities which cannot currently get affordable insurance. Clearly, having it come from the insurers themselves is what we are about. We think there is significant risk associated with compelling insurers to do it. They are making enough out of the reforms that have been put in place at this stage to be able to do it voluntarily.

The second point we would make, and it is something we want to return to at a later date, is that the Commission noted that where member states seek to improve the effectiveness of their local insurance market, they can, in principle, establish public-private partnerships. We feel this is an area that needs to be explored. Insurance Ireland mentioned in its opening statement that it is open to looking at any mechanisms that would resolve this issue, and we expect that it and Government would certainly have a look at that as one of the options for fixing this. This needs to be fixed.