Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide an update on the negotiations (details supplied) with the Irish Insurance Federation on the viability of a State insurance system for persons who are unable to obtain home related insurance from the private insurance market. [7628/13]

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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I wish to clarify that the contacts I have had with the Irish Insurance Federation (IIF) solely concern the difficulty some people are experiencing in obtaining flood cover insurance in areas in which the OPW has carried out flood defence works. These discussions are centred on the establishment of a sustainable system of information exchange with the insurance industry identifying flood alleviation schemes and works completed where the standard of protection afforded by these works can be verified. The discussions have not dealt with any other aspect of household insurance nor have they addressed the matter of a State backed insurance system. There are no plans to introduce any such system.

A working group has been established between the OPW, the IIF and representatives of several insurance companies to progress the work in order that the insurance industry can be more fully informed as to the extent of OPW funded investment in flood protection measures and to ensure that investment is taken into account by the insurance industry in assessing flood risk for insurance purposes. The first meeting of this working group took place in January and both sides are committed to working constructively to progress the matter.