Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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45. To ask the Minister for Finance the position regarding insurance cover for flooding in areas (details supplied) in County Kerry; the action that will be taken regarding these cases; his plans to create a Government backed scheme for such cases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46495/14]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I am aware that some householders and businesses have difficulties in obtaining flood insurance cover. However, neither I, as Minister for Finance, nor the Central Bank of Ireland, have the power to direct insurance companies to provide flood cover to specific individuals.

The 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 and the need to make adequate provisioning to meet these risks. As a matter of course, insurance companies carry out reviews of the risks they are prepared to insure against and sometimes make decisions to discontinue certain types of cover which they consider high risk. Insurance Ireland has indicated that 98% of policyholders have household insurance which includes flood cover.

I am advised that in cases where individuals are experiencing difficulty in obtaining flood insurance and believe that they are being treated unfairly it is open to them to contact Insurance Ireland which operates a free Insurance Information Service for those who have queries, complaints or difficulties in relation to insurance. Their service can be contacted at (01) 676 1914 or by email at .

Government policy in relation to flooding is focussed on the development of a sustainable, planned and risk-based approach to dealing with flooding problems.The Office of Public Works is carrying out an assessment of flood risk throughout the country under the National Catchment Flood Risk Assessment & Management (CFRAM) Programme.  This programme will include the  production of a comprehensive suite of flood risk maps and the development of flood risk management plans for the areas most at risk.  The plans will consider the best possible options, both structural and non-structural, for dealing with the risks on a long-term basis.

This commitment is underpinned by a very significant capital works investment programme which will see up to €225 million being spent on flood relief measures over a five year period from 2012 to 2016. Works are completed on a prioritised basis. Because of the cost and scale of these types of flood defence works, this approach will see benefits over the medium and long term.

The Deputy has raised the issue of flood insurance in the Tralee, Co Kerry.  The OPW has advised that Tralee was identified through the national Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment as a location where flood risk was potentially significant. It is therefore designated as an Area for Further Assessment under the CFRAM Programme.  A detailed flood risk assessment of Tralee is being carried out by engineering consultants on behalf of the OPW, under the Shannon CFRAM Study, in partnership with Kerry County Council.  Draft flood maps, which represent predicted flood extents for certain probabilities of flood events, are currently being produced and these will be subject to public consultation during the coming months. Details of public consultation events will be advertised locally and will be available on the CFRAM Programme website .

The next phase in the CFRAM Study will be the flood risk mitigation options assessment process.  Flood Risk Management Plans will be prepared in late 2015. The Office of Public Works and Insurance Ireland have agreed on a sustainable system of information sharing in relation to completed flood alleviation schemes. The outcome of this arrangement is that the insurance industry will have a much greater level of information and understanding of the extent of the protection provided by completed OPW flood defence works and will, therefore, be able to reflect this in assessing the provision of flood insurance to householders in areas where works have been completed. The OPW is continuing work on developing data on completed flood relief schemes in the format required by Insurance Ireland.  The insurance industry is however committing to take the information into account in their assessment of risk and it is to be expected that this could facilitate the provision of flood cover in areas that are protected by completed schemes. 

Following the severe weather events at the end 2013/early 2014, and on foot of Government decision to provide up to €19.6m for storm damages to public coastal protection and flood defence infrastructure, the OPW has allocated funding of €18.3m to local authorities for programmes of works to repair damaged public coastal protection and flood defence infrastructure.  The overall response to the severe weather events was co-ordinated by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, and the funding for repair of coastal defences is part of a total of up to €70 million which the Government has allocated for repair and remediation works arising from the storms.