Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

To be helpful, the demountable flood defences have been proved to work and there is robust engineering evidence of this. The man and woman on the street have seen it for themselves. To be helpful to him, I suggest to the Minister of State that he should not be led a merry dance by Insurance Ireland because it speaks for the big global insurers and I do not want to name names. Even if there is a memorandum of understanding, the question is what is the extent of its power? I have proof which I will furnish to the Minister of State, through the Irish Brokers Association which tells us people are being refused flood insurance in towns such as Fermoy and Mallow, notwithstanding the fact that there are demountable flood defences. I will come back to the Minister of State, but only if I get a sense from him that he will use the full weight of his office to lean on the insurance providers because the decisions taken by the insurance industry are not necessarily taken in Dublin. They are normally taken in Switzerland, London or any of the global capitals. If the reinsurers or underwriters are not covering the risk, with all due respect, the Minister of State is at nothing.

The people of Carrigtwohill regard Barryscourt Castle as a major resource. Will the Minister of State give a definitive date as to when it will open?