Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Everyone in this House is aware of what has occurred in respect of flooding in the past ten days. We have a major problem in that an awful lot of premises, both commercial and private, cannot get insurance cover. I am looking for the establishment of a centralised fund for properties where the owners cannot get damage cover due to flooding. It would be similar to the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland fund. That fund means that where someone is injured as the result of an accident, he or she can claim against the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland. The injured person would obviously claim against the driver of the car but there is a centralised fund for traffic accidents, which is the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland fund. I am talking about setting up a similar fund for flood damage. As everyone pays their insurance every year, an amount would be set aside for a centralised fund.

People will ask me why we should set up a fund now when there is adequate Government funding. I reply that a day may come when there is not adequate Government funding. We are very fortunate at this time that there is money available and accessible at short notice. However, that may not always be the case. Therefore, we need to do long-term planning now. My understanding from the insurance industry is that 97% of premises have flood insurance cover. I am talking about the premises that cannot get cover. All of Cork city, for instance, cannot get flood insurance cover.

I was in the Copper Valley Vue estate in Glanmire on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Twenty-five houses there were very badly damaged. I was with a couple there. The man turned 80 on Monday and his wife is 79. They have been living in their house for 40 years and never had flood damage in their lives. The house was never previously affected by floods. Everything has been destroyed. There was 2 ft of water in the house. I was with them at 5 p.m. on Saturday and it was devastating to see the damage caused to the beds and all the furniture. One problem with a bungalow is there is no place to which to escape. In fact, they had to be rescued from the house. A neighbour brought in a tractor and trailer and that was how they got out of the house. That just shows what we now need to do. That couple will never again get flood insurance. That is the difficulty they have now.

I very much welcome what was set up yesterday and what is available. We have increased the schemes for, for instance, a married couple with a combined income of €90,000. Once people are under the limit of earnings, they are entitled to claim. Even those who are over that threshold can still claim but may get a reduced level of compensation. If the couple in question have one child, another €15,000 is available in respect of the income they are entitled to earn. If they have two children, the relevant amount is €30,000. The scheme we have set up is extremely welcome but we need to do long-term planning for this issue. I presume insurance companies will be looking at areas more carefully and it may be more difficult to get insurance to cover flood damage. I ask that my proposal is given serious consideration.

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