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

I think that once flood defences are put in at taxpayers' expense and they are seen to be effective, insurance cover should follow immediately.

The note I have says the insurance industry claims mountable defences and flood gates do not meet the desired one-in-100-years standard. It has highlighted that the construction of demountable defences will not increase flood coverage in these areas but rather minimise any further reduction in coverage. The OPW has advised that there is no European Union standard for flood defence systems and that the OPW has developed the effective national standard. All OPW major schemes are now built to protect against the one-in-100 fluvial event and, where applicable, the one-in-200-years tidal flood event with additional allowances being made for climate change. The OPW has also advised that while it looks critically at every design solution to minimise the use of demountable systems, virtually every scheme in a town will have some type of access point for safety reasons, maintenance, recreation or amenity. This access will usually involve a gate. This is the situation with any flood defence scheme in any country. Demountable defences are now an internationally accepted and established measure for providing flood protection as part of publicly funded flood relief schemes.

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