Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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215. To ask the Minister for Finance his plans to introduce a general levy on insurance companies in order to pay for flooding incidents rather than having taxpayers footing a bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8198/14]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Government is aware of the high cost that the recent flooding and storm damage has brought to householders and businesses. The Deputy will be aware that the Government has agreed to make up to €70 million available for a programme of repair and remediation works in addition to €25 million in humanitarian assistance under a new Department of Social Protection Humanitarian Assistance Scheme.  As part of the response, my Department is also undertaking a review of the availability of flood insurance cover.  When the review is complete, I will examine it and report to my colleagues on what additional measures, if any, are needed to address the issue of paying for flood damage.

There are no plans at present to introduce a general levy on insurance companies in order to pay for flooding incidents.  I am not in a position to direct insurance companies to provide flood cover to specific individuals. The issue of provision of new flood cover or the renewal of existing flood cover is a commercial matter for insurance companies, which is based on a proper assessment of the risks they are accepting.

The Government is helping those who have been affected by flooding, by aiming to address the underlying problem through appropriate remedial works.  This involves:

(a) prioritising spending on flood relief measures by the Office of Public Works (OPW) and relevant local authorities to address those areas of greatest need including areas where industry are finding it most difficult to provide cover  - so that flood relief programmes can have maximum impact, where economically feasible,

(b) improving channels of communication between OPW and the insurance industry with the objective of ensuring that appropriate and relevant information on completed OPW flood defence schemes is provided to insurers to facilitate, to the greatest extent possible, the availability to the public of insurance against the risk of flooding, and

(c) providing humanitarian assistance under the Dept. of Social Protection Humanitarian Assistance Scheme which gives financial support to people who have suffered damage to their homes as a result of the flooding.

This coordinated whole-of-Government approach is led by OPW with relevant local authorities and other bodies to maximise the level of resources available to address flood relief works.  Because of cost and scale of these types of flood defence works, it is an approach which will see benefits over the medium and long term.