Tom Barry (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with many of the contributions made. We have a particular problem in Cork with OPW maps, as stated earlier. Consultation is taking place. A private company is doing the mapping and people are giving their observations. Many of these flood plains have been viewed from the sky and are computer generated models but are completely inaccurate on the ground. Funds have not been put in place to determine whether the map is correct. Once the map is generated, it creates problems. In my own locality many people were unable to get insurance cover. On these maps, the flood plain finishes in the centre of a hill. Water has never travelled uphill before and will not in the future, unless something odd happens. It is embarrassing trying to defend such a map. Certainly for people looking for insurance it is major concern as their biggest asset is their house.

I am well aware of the position in Cork city, having been a member of the council at the time it flooded. It was a shocking situation. The library was due to open on the day of the flooding. The university was completely damaged. All its computers system had been placed on the ground floor, where the racetrack had been, and massive sums of money were lost. The State will be dealing with that issue but the problem as I understand it is that nobody said it was his or her fault. They turned around and blamed everybody else and are still doing so. Great damage was done. We cannot put our finger on it and point out the chain of events but we need to look at how each person in each section could modify their behaviour to make sure this does not happen. We heard all kinds of stories about the dam being opened and cascades of water coming down. I am not sure how one gets people to take responsibility but public engagement is very interesting. Perhaps we should have a sinking fund - pardon the pun - similar to the fund for uninsured drivers where if one is unlucky to have a crash, there is a way of getting compensation. I agree there are blockages in terms of ownership. How does one get compensation? If a person looks for insurance cover and cannot get it, there should be a place to send that person before the event, rather than the person saying afterwards that he or she was looking for it and is now looking for compensation. That person is already in the middle of a traumatic event without them having to look for paperwork they may not have.

There are now many apartment blocks very close to the River Lee in Cork city. The car park can get flooded and possibly the first floor of the apartment block. While those on the second, third and fourth floors are not flooded, they have a responsibility, through their management agency, to provide for the structure of the building. They will get insurance cover by virtue of being on the higher levels but there must be some way of involving the owners who have a responsibility for flooding. It is a complex issue. I thought we in Cork were the only people dealing with this situation but there are others involved.

Unless we put some structure in place, this is going to be a talking shop for a long time to come. I agree with the principle that insurance should be widely available. The witness says in point five that it has to be practical and deliverable. If it is not practical, this will continue and I do not believe anybody wants to see it continue, but we do not want to create a situation where the State takes on all or undue risk and it is offloaded by insurers who think the State is an easy touch. We can all see the problems but I wonder if some Department will take it up. Maybe it is for the local authority to take it up in the first instance and try to become the effective people to change this and get it correct.