Spiralling insurance costs are killing festivals and parades in Tipperary

Spiralling insurance costs are killing festivals and other events across Co Tipperary, after the insurance group which had covered such events decided to withdraw from the Irish market, heard this month’s Tipperary County Council meeting.

The issue came to a head during a presentation by Melanie Scott of The Way Ahead: Tipperary Festivals and Events Strategy 2022 - 2024.

Cllr David Dunne said it can cost €600 or €700 to cover the St Patrick’s Day parade in Carrick-on-Suir. “It’s the biggest cost in running a festival. We do need training for people to fill out paperwork, which can be daunting.”

Cllr Jim Ryan said the covid restrictions in place regarding church gate collections, table collections and other fundraisers, combined with rising insurance costs, means a “lot of festivals in Tipperary are going to struggle financially.”

Other than that they had a small surplus from previous years, “we would have been in a serious situation this year.” Cllr Ryan called for Council assistance in funding festivals for the coming year.

Cllr Hughie McGrath said Irish Public Bodies, which had always insured festivals, decided two years ago not to cover festivals or events.

Tipperary CEO Joe MacGrath said it’s an issue not unique to festivals, but applies to all tourism facilities in the last two years.

“This is a national issue across the country, related to the willingness, and exit from the market, of some of the foreign-based insurance companies. That led to a deficit in our own market,” said MacGrath.

Full story in this week's Tipperary Star newspaper.