Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he has had, or intends to have, any engagement with the Insurance Federation or representatives from insurance companies to discuss the difficulties facing certain communities that experienced flooding in accessing house insurance, especially those communities in which extensive flood repair work has been carried out and in respect of homes in areas which were flooded but where particular sections were not flooded. [45495/12]

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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I am very much aware of the difficulties some people have been experiencing in securing insurance cover for flood risk at affordable prices or at all.

In areas where flood defence and alleviation works have been carried out, I cannot accept that any property protected by significant public capital investment would not be able to receive a quotation for insurance at reasonable cost.

In March 2012, I had a constructive engagement with the insurance industry about the scope and scale of the work undertaken by the OPW on flood risk management, on the alleviation schemes being undertaken in many of our large cities and towns and, in particular, on the mapping of areas subject to flood risk nationally which will emerge from the OPW's catchment flood risk assessment and management programme (CFRAM).

I indicated then that I wished to see an agreement reached as quickly as possible between the OPW and the IIF on a sustainable system of information sharing particularly for locations vulnerable to flooding and for identifying flood alleviation schemes and works completed and where the standard of protection afforded by these works could be verified.

To meet the technical requirements set out by the industry for risk assessment purposes, a proposed template for providing the required information was presented to the IIF and a number of the main insurance companies in July 2012.

I understand the IIF has indicated in recent days that it is in the process of collating the responses it has received from its members on the OPW information proposals and it hopes to be in a position shortly to formally respond on this.

I look forward to receiving the IIF response and I very much hope that it will be positive and allow for speedy agreement on the format of the information to be provided by the OPW.