Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The flooding crisis earlier this year has raised issues in relation to insurance and flooding and I am aware of the difficulties that the absence or withdrawal of flood insurance cover can cause to homeowners. One of my primary concerns in the area of insurance is that homeowners have access to insurance to cover unforeseen losses, including flooding. 

However, the provision of insurance cover and the price at which it is offered is a commercial matter for insurance companies and is based on an assessment of the risks they are willing to accept and adequate provisioning to meet those risks. In my role as Minister for Finance, I have responsibility for the development of the legal framework governing financial regulation. Neither I nor the Central Bank of Ireland can interfere in the provision or pricing of insurance products or have the power to direct insurance companies to provide flood cover to specific individuals or businesses.

Government policy in relation to flooding is focused on the development of a sustainable, planned and risk-based approach to dealing with flooding problems, with a view to addressing the increased availability of flood insurance.

To achieve this aim the OPW is carrying out assessments of 300 areas under the catchment flood risk assessment and management, CFRAM, programme and each area will have a flood risk management plan, FRMP, by the end of 2016. Decisions on future investment in relation to flood risk management will be informed by the FRMPs.

This strategy is complemented by a memorandum of understanding between the OPW and Insurance Ireland which provides for the transfer by the OPW of data in relation to completed flood defence schemes to the insurance industry. 

In addition, my officials are undertaking research on alternative options with the potential to ensure greater availability of flood insurance. This will be in the form of a comparative analysis of the different approaches to flood insurance in other countries. This will then feed into a report to Government from the interdepartmental flood policy co-ordination group which is expected to be completed before the summer.

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