Statement of Dairy Farmer & Owner Self-Catering Thatch Cottage

Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Short Term Letting and Tourism Bill

Introduction

My name I Tomás O Keeffe .I am farming in Newcastle County Tipperary. Like a lot of dairy farmers, my business is very susceptible to the loss of the derogation, for which, as an industry we don’t have a plan B. Dairy farming is facing a lot of challenges that have the potential to restrict family farm incomes, and I saw a need to plan for these challenges, so I set about diversifying my farm in 2021 when I began work on what is now Suir Valley Cottage, a 200 year old thatched cottage in the middle of my farmyard.

These are some points on why I feel Agritourism is important, and how its potential will be effected by the STTL legislation, and also how this bill could also unintentionally remove the thatched houses of Ireland from our landscape forever.

Operating an Agritourism Business on Farms Benefit Farmers

Family farms are facing challenges, both economic and social.

From an economic perspective, we face issues like the potential loss of the Nitrates Derogation, massive world market price fluctuations as we see in the current milk markets, along with climate change, as prolonged summer droughts have become the norm in the southeast of Ireland. Managing a family farm in Ireland has never been so expensive, or so complicated.

From a social perspective, we have a lot of small farms owned by older farmers and we are facing a crisis of generational renewal. In Tirlán Co-op for example, the average age of a milk supplier is 57, and 50% of the total milk pool comes from herds with 60 cows or less. In order for the Irish family farm to survive, the farms must be seen as attractive and indeed profitable places to work.

I believe farm diversification has a role to play here, and agritourism is one of many diversification options that need to be seen as viable for the next generations on these farms. Additionally, it provides a much-needed income stream for family farms. I personally know several retired farmers who rely on their short term let as a part of their retirement income.

Ireland is falling behind in agritourism. In other European countries, governments recognize the integral role that agritourism plays in supporting small family farms by granting it its own marketing designation, similar to the exemption we are seeking on this issue.

I believe we have massive, untapped potential here. We live in areas of incredible natural beauty, hosted by farmers with deep local knowledge. This presents a unique guest experience for the thousands of tourists who want to explore Ireland and reconnect with their Irish heritage. We should be encouraging these developments on farms in a quality-assured manner, as they provide a rich tourism experience for visitors, without impacting on long term housing availability. We need a planning exemption for agritourism, so that this enterprise on farms can be developed further without unnecessary impediment.

Average Guest Experience in My Self-Catering

For many guests, I suppose, the experience could be described as a something of a homecoming. I see short-term letting as the natural evolution of the old Irish homestead, and I think it plays an important role in the “welcoming home” of Irish diaspora from all over the world.

I operate a 200-year-old thatched cottage in the middle of a working farmyard, and for many of these guests, it is their first experience in what could be called “REAL” Ireland. The experience of guests is not perfectly manufactured, it’s authentic, and it’s completely unique. They’re interested in the Ireland of their ancestors, but also in the Ireland of today- they join me on farm walks in the evenings, and we talk about farming, we tell stories and discussions on family history can continue well into the night. They visit the nearby villages, providing economic benefits to local pubs, shops and restaurants.

My short term let has led to a wide range of connections that would have never happened anywhere else- we’ve had guests from America, Australia, New Zealand, Canada to mention a few. In many cases we receive emails and messages afterwards, from people who we now know as friends.

For many of these guests their visit is a multigenerational, once in a lifetime trip. It can bring out a lot of emotion. For some grandparents, emigration is within living memory, and they have worked for years for the chance to bring their grandchildren “home”. It doesn’t really matter, that this house isn’t the exact one that they might have left years ago- the house, and their time in the Irish countryside, brings these families full circle with their history in a way that I don’t think a typical tourist accommodation could do. We are already seeing concern among bookers and a reluctance to book because of the uncertainty of the current position. It would be a massive loss to see all this connectivity, effectively come to an end on May 20^th.

Thatch Cottages as Self-Catering

Thatched cottages are listed as one of the properties that should be exempt from planning regulations. As an owner of a thatched cottage, can you explain how this legislation is related to thatched cottages?

STR presents the perfect, and in my opinion, one of the only solutions to the unique problems of owning a thatched cottage.

As I see it, there are 3 main challenges to managing a thatched cottage in Ireland. from a financial standpoint, the remaining stock of thatched houses in Ireland are in many ways a liability to their owners. They are very difficult and expensive to insure and as a result it can be very difficult to raise funds from a bank to maintain or improve them. There is grant aid, which is welcome, but it can be very limited, and work on these structures can be very expensive with a re-thatch now costing in the region of thirty thousand euros. STR provides an income stream to owners to fund the incredibly expensive upkeep of these invaluable heritage properties.

Secondly, there’s the issue of management. Many of these properties, for one reason or another, are not suitable for modern living without major structural changes that may damage the heritage value of the property. These buildings require specialist, and often expensive expertise, to maintain. Short term rental allows for occupation for large portions of the year, whilst still giving the owner plenty of time to carry out time frequent repairs.

Thirdly, there’s the issue of occupation. The secret to keeping these old structures damp free and structurally sound is the warmth that comes from frequent human occupation. Since many of these historic buildings are not suitable for modern living, short-term letting allows these heritage properties to be occupied by guests and managed intermittently by their owners. Although many of these houses, my own included, have stood for hundreds of years, the lifespan of an unoccupied thatched house, without the benefit of heat and maintenance, is heartbreakingly short. If this legislation were to pass in its current form, with no exemption for thatched cottages, we could see dozens of heritage buildings rot away in the span of a decade or less.

Conclusion

So, to sum up my points- the exemption from planning legislations allows thatched cottage owners with the finance to maintain their properties, the flexibility to work on them and the ideal conditions for them to thrive. A thatched cottage is completely different to any other type of structure on this island, and if we fail to give it consideration in this legislation, we will lose a part of our history we will never be able to get back. If we value Irish history, heritage and culture, an exemption for thatched cottages is simply non-negotiable.