THE importance of the sport horse sector to rural Ireland was underlined by Taoiseach Micheál Martin (FF) as TDs expressed concern over the stranglehold the lack of insurance cover is exerting on the equestrian sector.

The Taoiseach said that the sector’s importance ‘cannot be understated’ referring to ‘real jobs’ and ‘a whole ecosystem’ stemming from the sport horse sector in terms of breeding, competition and the leisure equestrian sector. He also held out hope that some providers are considering entering the market to provide insurance cover.

Tipperary TD Michael Lowry (Ind) highlighted that the equestrian sector should not be left to ‘money-grabbing insurance companies’ to determine, referring to the UCD Report which detailed the contribution to the National Exchequer, estimated at over €800 million p.a. Cork East TD James O’Connor (FF) also raised equine insurance with the Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe (FG).

“The most recent casualty of the prohibitive cost of insurance is the horse sport sector. The horse sports sector is a vast industry overall. Horse sport is a major employer in rural Ireland and an intrinsic part of the fabric of Irish life,” said Deputy Lowry.

The Taoiseach responded: “The Deputy has raised an important issue. As he pointed out, up to 14,000 jobs are created in the horse sport sector, predominantly in rural Ireland, according to an economic study carried out in UCD. The importance of that leisure sector to rural Ireland cannot be understated because real jobs and a whole ecosystem emanate from that in terms of the leisure sector, competition, sports horse breeding and so forth.

“We are aware that high-risk activity sectors, including equestrian pursuits, are experiencing issues around accessibility and affordability of insurance. The latest national claims information database report shows that the public liability market in Ireland has been loss-making for several years and therefore has been unattractive to insurers. In addition, large insurance claims arising from incidents have an effect on premium prices across specific sectors.”

However, Micheál Martin said some providers may enter the equestrian sector, referring to the work of Minister of State Deputy Fleming who chairs a sub-Cabinet committee in the area of insurance reform.

“Following recent intensive engagements with the insurance industry, I understand from the Department of Finance that some providers are considering the possibility of entering the equestrian sector,” stated the Taoiseach.

The Irish Field has previously reported that much work is ongoing behind the scenes in the insurance market and insurance insiders remain quietly confident that it will bear fruit in time.

Law reform

The Department of Justice recently completed a review of the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1995, including the duty of care, notice and waivers, and the Government intends to bring forward proposals to reform the law in this key area.

The Taoiseach stated: “The planned rebalancing of the duty of care, with a view to applying a common sense approach to risk, is of particular relevance to equestrian activities as it will help to address so called slips, trips and falls. The introduction of the new personal injury guidelines set reduced levels for personal injury compensation awards in Ireland and changed the amounts of general damages to be awarded by the courts and the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, PIAB. Early data from PIAB demonstrated that award levels have declined by an average of 40%.

“Insurance reform continues to be a major item of government. A sub-committee of Cabinet deals specifically across different Departments, and exclusively, with the issue of insurance.

“The office to promote competition in the insurance market has been established and is chaired by the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming. Its objective is to assist in reducing insurance costs and increasing the availability of cover by promoting competition in the insurance market.”

Struggling sectors

Some 35 sectors are struggling to get insurance cover in Ireland now, according to Deputy Lowry who pointed out that “many show jumpers, event riders and others’ emerge, alongside National Hunt jockeys, from the hunting field.

“Failure to provide liability insurance for hunts means landowners cannot allow hunting to take place over their land. No access to land means no hunting. While hunting is one of the first horse sport pursuits to be affected, it will not be the last.

“Removing access to riding facilities, be they hunting facilities, riding schools, pony clubs or trails, will inevitably undermine the resources and knowledge base of the equine world in Ireland,” stated Deputy Lowry.