Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Over the Christmas period and at the start of the new year, we all looked aghast at the incidence of flooding throughout the country, particularly in the Shannon basin area. I compliment the people in the rural areas on their resilience and I acknowledge the hard work of the local authorities and various agencies in providing services, as seen on the television.

One of the most significant features of the widespread flooding that occurred over the Christmas period, to which enough attention may not have been paid, is that, despite the fact these were the heaviest rains nationwide in decades, there was no flooding in Dublin. We must take cognisance of this. The inner city of Dublin, including my constituency, Dublin Central, which was prone to flooding, was not flooded. One will have seen photographs over the years of taoisigh standing in the water, of the River Tolka bursting its banks and of flooding along the River Liffey and Royal Canal. East Wall, North Strand, Clonliffe Road, Ballybough and Cabra were especially vulnerable. Homes in these areas were regularly flooded. Despite this, there was no flooding this time around.

Substantial funding was invested by the Government and substantial remedial works were carried out on the River Tolka, Royal Canal and River Liffey. Swales were constructed in Cabra and water drainage was checked systematically by the local authority. The issues in Dublin city have been comprehensively addressed in that the heaviest rains in decades caused no flooding at all.

Despite this, the insurance companies have continued to behave as though the area were prone to flooding all the time. They have failed to take cognisance of the flood defences that have been put in place. Certain areas which used to be flooded remain no-go areas as far as the companies are concerned. They simply will not include flood cover at all in the premiums. They will not even offer people quotations or, if they do, they offer exorbitant ones. People buying a home in virtually any part of Dublin 3 or parts of Dublin 7 in my constituency are treated like pariahs by the insurance companies when they ask for flood cover on their premium. This is intolerable and should not be allowed to continue.

The insurance industry is operating in a very high-handed fashion at present. Where the local authority and Office of Public Works can demonstrate the extent and effectiveness of the flood defence works that have been put in place, the insurance companies should be obliged, by legislation if necessary, to include flood cover on all premiums. In all the discussions we are having today and have been having recently, we should note that where flood defences have been put in place, with proof of engineering, the insurance company should not be allowed to get away without offering a quotation.

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