Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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163. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the steps his Department is taking in relation to the issues owners of thatched cottages are having in obtaining home insurance; if his Department has liaised with the Department of Finance on the matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47729/22]

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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Under Action 6 of the strategy for built vernacular heritage, A Living Tradition, which I launched in December 2021, my Department has undertaken to “investigate and work to resolve the urgent issue of affordability of insurance for thatched buildings” and other relevant issues relating to thatch and thatched buildings.

I have established a steering group to assist my Department in the implementation of those actions. Two members of the group are thatch-owners, including a thatcher, another is a thatching grant inspector, and the others have key roles in relevant outside bodies.

My Department’s built heritage unit is working urgently to progress the resolution of the thatch insurance issue and, to this end, has engaged a specialist to support an urgent assessment of the insurance sector as it applies to thatched properties. This assessment involves engagement with thatch-owners, insurance brokers, insurance companies, the oversight authorities (including the FSPO, Central Bank, Department of Finance), local authorities and any other relevant bodies.

My Department expects an interim report at the end of September and a final report by the end of November. On the basis of the recommendations set out in the report, and any avenues for progress that suggest themselves in the meantime, my Department will work urgently to seek workable solutions to the thatch insurance issue.