Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses and thank them for their contributions and opening statements.

I will start by addressing Mr. Thompson. I do not know if he saw much of the earlier session that we held with the Irish National Flood Forum and the Cork Business Association. The key question that emerged from that session is one of which Mr. Thompson will be aware. There are towns where the Office of Public Works completed flood relief schemes several years ago and these schemes have proven successful, having been tested against very severe weather conditions and flood events which would have flooded the areas in the past. There is a map of Fermoy in County Cork which Mr. Thompson may not have seen, on which all the areas within red lines have been denied flood insurance cover despite being located in a town where a very significant public investment of €35 million has resulted in an effective flood defence system being put in place. Why do the members of Mr. Thompson's organisation continue to deny people and businesses flood insurance cover in situations like this?