Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I will be brief. I am grateful to the Chair for allowing me to raise this Topical Issue. I recognise the work that the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, has done on this issue over some time. While I intend to focus on a local example from Dublin South-East, I emphasise that this is a national issue. In 2007, some €13 million was spent on flood defences along the River Dodder to protect an area stretching as far as Lansdowne Road against a flood event that was likely to occur once every 200 years. Following the heavy flooding that was caused by rain in October 2011, a further €2 million was spent on emergency works and new flood defences along the river as far as Ballsbridge. Work has now started on flood defence works costing approximately €10 million to protect an area extending as far as Donnybrook and Clonskeagh. This means that over €25 million will have been spent to protect homes, communities and businesses along the River Dodder.

Taxpayers and the Government need to see a dividend from the money that has been spent on the protection of these communities. When I surveyed 1,000 homes in an area covering Ringsend, Sandymount and Bath Avenue, I found they cannot get flood cover or, if they can, their policies have been doubled.

For the most part they have not been able to get flood insurance. This is replicated in Carlow, Cork, Donegal and across the country. Every week members of my community contact me about the problems of getting flood insurance. They are people who want to sell, to downsize, or who have outgrown their family home and want to move to another property. They are locked in because the person who wishes to buy their home cannot get a mortgage as they have failed to get flood insurance. Nobody can buy because nobody can get flood insurance.

I have organised meetings between Dublin City Council and Insurance Ireland, formerly the Irish Insurance Federation, to ensure the transfer of information from the council and the OPW, to enable insurers to see the quality and quantity of work done. We urgently need to bring forward a clear protocol. If the taxpayer spends this much money there has to be a dividend. The insurance companies need to co-operate but if they fail to do so, and if this cannot be achieved by agreement or protocol, I call for legislation.

Earlier this year Insurance Ireland indicated that it would come forward with a protocol in September saying to the effect that it had a mechanism to recommend to its members to give flooding cover where the OPW has invested such large moneys in flood protection. It has failed to do that. Families are living in overcrowded conditions and want to move on. Older people want to downsize and move to something more suitable but they are locked in. The OPW has spent over €40 million on this one small area and that is not recognised. At this stage we need to move on urgently. We need to say to the insurance industry that it should introduce a protocol or agreement or this House will bring forward legislation.

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