Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is quite all right. I know the Minister of State does not operate in that way.

Everyone has rightly spoken about houses that are deemed uninsurable. We have a mechanism to deal with this issue in the motor industry through the Motor Insurers' Bureau of Ireland and the Government levies general insurance policies and products. The idea that people can only be insured once and if they are flooded they are not insured again and the taxpayer picks up the tab is wrong. I understand why it must be done at present. We should consider introducing a general insurance bureau for housing whereby insurance companies are levied and a part of the premium paid goes to a separate fund into which the State can reach when dealing with events such as these. I am examining equivalent measures in several European countries. We should tell Insurance Ireland this is being done. Obviously it should be consulted to some degree, but I would not let it lead the Minister of State by the nose.

The Minister of State has been very active regarding the flooding that has occurred throughout the country. It is very difficult for the local authorities to get a handle on it. Some events in specific areas had been forewarned for a number of years and some flood defences have been put in place to deal with coastal erosion. My colleagues eloquently spoke about their areas and I will speak specifically about Portrane and other coastal communities in which work is hindered because they are EU-designated special areas of conservation. Perhaps the Minister of State will be fortunate enough to have a new role after 23 May.

As I look around, I see many former, future and potential MEPs. Perhaps the Members who are throwing theirs hat into the ring will, when they go to the European Parlilament, look to the European Union-----