Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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My final question is for the Minister of State who has previously raised the issue of insurance and engaged with that industry on areas in which OPW schemes have been completed. The industry has provided certain statistics for the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for the levels of flood insurance coverage in those areas and claimed that they are high.

They would argue that it is more than 80%. Is the Department and the Office of Public Works, OPW, continuing to work on that issue? Drilling into those statistics a little more, I want to know about properties in low-lying areas that were previously prone to flooding but have now benefited from a flood relief scheme completed by the OPW which has proven to be successful. Does the Minister of State have a handle on the proportion of those properties now able to get flood insurance? It seems that the statistics given by the industry to the OPW and to the Department are taking account of properties that always had insurance such as those that might be 100 m up a hill. I am referring to the properties that are low lying and were at risk of flooding or may have flooded, that now benefit from this taxpayer-funded scheme that has proven to be successful, but still cannot get insurance. That is my point.