Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

We are practically in the eye of the storm that has come up from the south. It is hitting Dublin at the moment. I would say we are seeing the tail end of it.

I would like to pick up on the points that were made earlier about the overall climate change picture. We remember the weather events of 2002, 2009 and 2011 and we are having another such event in 2013-14. It is symptomatic of a change in our climate. This change will continue over the coming decades. As glaciers in the North Pole and South Pole melt, there will be more water in our seas which will affect coastal regions in a big way. That is for the longer term.

These difficulties are not confined to Ireland. As the Minister of State said, there have been problems in England and elsewhere in Europe. Significant areas of America, including poor island countries and coastal areas, are regularly damaged by hurricanes. Poorer areas are generally more affected by storms because they are less protected and less investment has gone into them. The Minister of State rightly said that investment is crucial, but investment takes time. We need to reflect as a matter of emergency on how we can hasten investment in flood defences over the next few years.

Some €50 million of damage was done in Cork and Limerick over a period of between 36 and 48 hours. We need to add to that the cost of having to send out workers from the ESB, local councils and the OPW. The cost of the effects of recent events on aspects of farm activity, such as cattle, grain and vegetables, also needs to be considered. It has been forecast that Britain will have problems feeding its people next year because of the effects of the floods there on farmland. The costs associated with the effects of what happened recently can be added to the costs that had to be met after the events of 2002, 2009 and 2011. If we had put in better flood defences many years ago, the recent bad weather would not have had such an impact and would not be costing people so much. I refer not only to the economic cost, but also to the human cost of people having to leave their homes and deal with such disruption.

I will make a final point with regard to insurance companies. I would very much like to have a little more speaking time. We met the Minister of State in 2012 to discuss what happened in Kilmainham during the big floods in Dublin the previous year. He met the relevant people very quickly after we asked him to do so. The issue of insurance was raised on that occasion. There are two aspects to this matter. First, insurance companies use flood maps to say they cannot provide insurance. Second, they refuse to insure people after flood defences are installed. Approximately 100,000 people cannot get flood insurance at present. That number will increase now that so many people have been affected by the recent flooding. We need to seriously consider establishing a national public insurance fund to assist people. I do not accept what the insurance companies are saying because they are trying to get out of it. This matter needs to be seriously examined.

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