INSURERS GIVEN FREE REIN, FUMES PROTESTING HORSEMAN
THE rocketing cost of insurance has prompted a lifelong horseman to drive his carriage across the country, from Co. Clare to the Dáil.
Seán Kilkenny, who looks after the horses and vintage carriages at Dromoland Castle, travelled to Leinster House this week in a horse and trap, to highlight the plight of those struggling to keep their business afloat.
‘We need to stand up for ourselves’
Arriving in Dublin yesterday morning, he said his jarvey and riding school business had been ‘wiped out’ by Covid-19 restrictions over the past few months, and that insurers had quoted him €11,500 to get back to work.
This was a massive rise from his previous €3,995 premium, and he said the Government needed to do more to protect equestrian and tourism businesses from the ‘greed’ of the insurance industry.
‘This is my life, and we are a proud people. I want to see the reform of the insurance industry, and I have called on people to come out and support us along the road,’ he said. ‘People in every angle of business, all over the country, have a story to tell about insurance. We need to stand up for ourselves.’
Mr Kilkenny said he owned 40 horses, which are used in the riding school at Dromoland Castle, and to pull carriages for tourists, weddings and funerals.
He brought 14 of them on the journey to Dublin.
The 46-year-old said he had worked at Dromoland since 1988, and had planned to carry on working for many more decades. But his new insurance premium would put him out of business, and he would have to sell his horses, which he said was a heartbreaking prospect. ‘So we went up to Dublin, to the Dáil, to see Micheál Martin. He’s our leader, our chieftain. We need him to stand up for us,’ he said.
The Alliance for Insurance Reform sympathised with Mr Kilkenny, and expressed intense frustration at ongoing delays in action on insurance. Its director Linda Murray said the insurance crisis is hampering SMEs in their recovery from the pandemic.