Thatched cottage owners plea to Government not to let the roof fall in on them

Thatched cottage owners left in a “strangle hold” due to sky rocketing insurance costs and insufficient funding towards maintenance are calling for the government to provide greater supports to save one of Ireland's most iconic structures.

An estimated 20-25 per cent of thatch cottages have been lost in Ireland over the past 20 years and that only about 1,000 cottages still stand today with advocates warning that the iconic dwellings could become extinct if homeowners cannot source affordable insurance.

A survey of 2,278 owners carried out by the Thatch Insurance Action Group recently revealed that 50pc are struggling to find insurance with those providing cover charging from €1,500 to €5,000 per year.

Irish insurance companies, including FBD Insurance and OBF, have stopped offering thatched home insurance to new customers, while insurance has become considerably more expensive since Brexit.

Thatch owners are compelled through Protected Structures legislation to maintain and keep their properties and a thatching grant of €3,800 is available from the Department of Heritage and Local Government but this hasn't increased since it was introduced almost 35 years ago in 1990.

A further grant of up to €50,000 is available from the Historic Structures Fund at each local authority's discretion.

Many owners have been forced to bridge the gap of the funding shortfall for an array of things including electrical upgrades, thatch ridge repairs, removal of stoves and RECI certs. While the cost replacing a thatched roof can be up to a staggering €130k.

Madeline Harbison whose thatch home dates back to 1883 and was rebuilt in 1999 after it fell into disrepair.

Madeline said she “fell in love” with the quaint cottage in the village of Donore when looking to buy a property in 2018 and was willing to do her part to restore the building but says that she could not have foreseen the challenges she would encounter along the way and now fears an uncertain future.

“While my heart is in the house and I strongly feel I owe it to the house to keep it thatched, I may have no choice in the future but to have the roof completely slated if costs continue to rise with insurance and thatch repairs and the spraying of the thatch with bluestone, especially as I approach retirement in the next few years and my income will be significantly less,” said Madeline.

A Bluestone copper sulphate application is required annually to prevent the growth of moss and other vegetation on the roof costing in the region of €700.

“I did apply to Meath Co Council for a grant from the Historic Structures Fund back in March for repair and maintenance but was refused with no reason given and asked to continue to apply for funding when available again,” she added.

“I'm currently paying €1,676 for home insurance, my policy is due to renewal in November but the insurer says it can't give me a quote until October so I am in no man's land. There are so few insurers out there willing to provide cover so you are really at their mercy.”

The thatched house attracts a lot of attention in the village as Madeline explains:

“I'm a two minute drive from the World Heritage Site at Newgrange and if I had a euro for every tourist who stopped to take a photograph outside my house, I'd have the house and its repairs well paid off by now!” said Madeline who is an active member of the Tidy Towns group in Donore as well as the Environmental and Heritage Group in the area.

“The normal thatching grant is every seven years and I feel that is too long of a spell for people to wait because disrepair is happening so rapidly now due to climate change and the cost of materials has gone through the roof.

“You almost feel in a strangle hold, you are thinking is the roof going to fall in on us? Will I be able to survive on my pension, have I enough money in the kitty. I can't even sell my house because anyone coming with a mortgage will not get insurance, it's a very stressful situation to be in.”

Meanwhile Saskia Lynch who lives in Beauparc believes those obligated to use traditional more costly methods to maintain their thatched home should have these undertakings fully funded.

“We can't shop for house insurance because there are very few companies that will actually insure us,” said Saskia.

“Our premium is around €1,100 per year, nearly one and a half times the cost of normal house insurance and annual maintenance is €350 to €400 per year,” she added.

“In 2020, we got the house rethatched costing €20,000 which was partially funded.

“There is a method of using reed to thatch that has a life span of every 25 years however we are obliged to use the traditional straw method as it is listed as a protected structure so that means more money and more maintenance.”

Saskia believes thatched home owners deserve more support to ensure the future of these buildings that are steeped in Ireland's heritage.

“The council is allocated a certain amount of funding every year so there is no guarantee that you will get approved that year,” she said.

“The conservation architect in Meath Co Co has always been incredibly helpful but there is a cap of their funding and their hands can be tied .

“I love my house and we were more than happy to restore it but I think repairs and maintenance that require traditional methods should be fully funded.

Saskia says the historical significance of thatched buildings cannot be underestimated and support to secure their future is vital.

“Thatched houses offer snap shots into the past,” said the Beauparc resident.

“The biggest tourist attractions in Co Meath are historic structures like Newgrange and Trim Castle. I think it is important to give people who own these structures as much support as required,” she added.

Áine McGarry put her heart and soul into the restoration of Trohanny Cottage, near Moynalty, over the past 25 years to turn it from a derelict cottage with a red tin roof into a stunning example of a traditional Irish cottage that she rents out as an Air B N B to help cover costs. However, due to the struggle to secure insurance and surging maintenance costs she worries for the future.

“Not only is the cost of insuring a thatch roof astronomical, it is a gamble whether you'll get anywhere to cover you at all,” said Aine.

“There is at present only one company in the whole country that will now cover for thatch insurance.”

Áine says it would break her heart to remove the thatched roof but it is a reality that many thatch cottage owners are facing. She is appealing to government to support them before this part of Irish heritage is lost forever.

“If the Government of Ireland accept that the retention of our heritage of thatch is important then they must also accept that they have a responsibility to fund and facilitate traditional thatching and thatch buildings and that includes the ability to protect those buildings through affordable insurance and appropriate grant funding.”

Fine Gael Cllr Alan Tobin put forward a motion at a recent meeting of Ashbourne Municipal District calling for Meath County Council to request the Minister for Housing, Local Government, and Heritage carry out a structural condition audit, on a county-by-county basis, of all privately-owned thatched cottages with and without preservation orders.

“The purpose of this audit is to establish a sustainable grant system that will ensure the preservation of these cottages for future generations,” said Cllr Tobin.

A spokesperson for the Thatch Insurance Action Group said:

“Despite the Government's insurance reforms the thatch insurance situation is getting worse - with fewer underwriters and ever larger premiums, the thatch insurance market is broken.

“The Government knows this but refuses to seek for a solution, meanwhile thatch owners who want to remove their thatch so that they can insure their property are prevented from doing this by the various state Planning Institutions because they consider them to have a heritage value - but they don't value them enough to solve the insurance conundrum.

“They want to hold thatch owners to ransom and oblige them to maintain (and in the event of destruction, to rebuild and reinstate) their thatch property without the benefit of insurance. The social contract between the State and thatch owners is broken.”

Meath Co Council has been contacted for comment.