Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for the opportunity to raise this matter. My colleagues, Deputies Dara Murphy and Jim Daly, as well as several Dublin based Deputies have also been in contact with the Office of Public Works and the Irish Insurance Federation regarding the issue of homes that have been flooded and can no longer access any form of insurance. As I have raised the matter with the Minister of State, Deputy White, on previous occasions, I will be brief in rehearsing the two issues arising. First, the constituents who I represent understand that the premiums they will be asked to pay could reflect the increased risk of flooding to their homes, but they find it difficult to accept that they cannot get any flood insurance whatsoever. Second, the State is funding infrastructure throughout the country to protect communities from the risk of flooding. Insurance companies reflect this infrastructure in the premiums they charge in those communities. In effect, the State is providing support to the insurance industry but communities which are not protected by flood prevention infrastructure - I am also seeking to fix this - are given no support from the insurance industry. A question of fairness arises if the insurance industry is not recognising the State's investment in certain communities to prevent flooding and, in many cases, refusing to provide flood insurance at any price. Even homes that have never experienced flooding are unable to get flood insurance because they are located near areas that were flooded.

I acknowledge that the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Brian Hayes, is doing considerable work in this area and is seeking to advance negotiations. I would be grateful if we could get an update on the current status of these negotiations.

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