Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

All our commiserations go to all the households, families and businesses affected by the flooding. Hopefully, as the weekend progresses all the work that has been done on the ground by local authorities, the Defence Forces and community welfare staff of my own Department will help to mitigate this very traumatic and upsetting event for any family, particularly in the run-up to Christmas. This is the largest weather event of this type since 2009. The current weather forecast is for a long front and we are not yet sure where it will land. The Department of Social Protection's humanitarian assistance emergency programme was activated approximately three weeks ago, when the first spate of flooding started. Last weekend, together with the county councils of Kerry and Clare, we assisted families to access alternative homes, where appropriate, and other accommodation on a temporary basis. Most people want to stay at or close to their homes so that they can begin the clean-up.

The Department of Social Protection is also activating a €10 million fund to help to meet the immediate costs of the flooding. As the waters recede and the clean-up starts, this fund will help with the provision of furniture and white goods, such as fridges and freezers, which have been destroyed. The third phase will be to help people carry out structural work which may be required on their homes. On the previous occasion this happened in 2009, which Deputy Keaveney will remember, we worked extensively with families in east Galway. In a number of cases, homes had to be knocked and replacement homes built because they were built on flood plains. This work was done in conjunction with the local authority and the OPW. All the measures outlined in emergency provisioning are now in place and under way but it takes some time, particularly with major structural damage, to identify what has happened to a house and what needs to be done.

In Cabinet the other day, we agreed to establish a €5 million fund in conjunction with the Red Cross to assist small businesses who are at a loss and unable to get insurance. Discussions on that are under way as we speak and more will take place over the coming weekend. It is difficult for traders in places like Bandon who have been looking forward to one of the best Christmases since 2007 and 2008.

On the question about insurance, there have been detailed discussions on this issue both in committees and with the Minister for Finance as it relates to his remit. There are a range of views on possible insurance supports and schemes. I do not know if the Deputy has identified the type of scheme she wishes to propose, but it is certainly something that should be examined again. However, we must be careful. Are we saying we will allow the private insurance industry in Ireland to walk away from responsibility for providing general insurance for people's properties, and how will we identify those areas and the insurance risks that will be taken on by the general policyholder in the form of higher insurance payments or through some other scheme? I would be interested to hear the Deputy's proposals on that.

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