Mr. Jer Buckley:

It is very interesting to see this movement with regard to demountable defences. This movement is very current, within the past week, and it is not a coincidence that we are before the committee today and Insurance Ireland is accepting demountable defences. It just shows the power of an Oireachtas committee investigation into something such as this, and what can be brought to bear. I do not believe the insurance companies come to the table with clean hands. I do not believe they have any willingness whatsoever to move. They will keep kicking the can down the road, which is why we need Deputy McGrath's Bill to pass.

The Deputy's point on the fact Insurance Ireland is now using human error as an excuse is interesting. This does not cut the mustard. There is human error if someone forgets to press the brake in the car. There is human error with regard to all insurance policies, but Insurance Ireland cannot give any example in Ireland to date, despite the worst flooding this country ever saw in 2015. Schemes in Clonmel worked perfectly with demountable defences. Schemes in Mallow worked perfectly, and they were fully tested, and there was the scheme in Fermoy. Between these three schemes alone, €115 million was spent. They are up and operational since 2014 and 2015, and we are in 2017 and the insurance companies still refuse cover.

It is essential that any committee member questioning the insurance industry drills down through the figures, because the insurance industry will blind them with figures today. They will give percentages and phrases such as "98% cover", and state they are not in the business of insuring an uninsurable risk. We are not speaking about an uninsurable risk. We are speaking about a risk that has been mitigated by some of the best flood defence schemes in the world, and we cannot get over this hurdle. We are talking about the whole centre of Fermoy having no flood insurance. If 98% of homeowners and businesses have flood cover, how on earth can we have this map, based on a survey, with all of the red zones shown? The whole centre of Fermoy is blighted with no flood insurance.