Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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187. To ask the Minister for Finance if updated flood insurance policies will be applied to homes and businesses previously refused flood insurance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1397/16]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The provision of insurance cover and the price at which it is offered is a commercial matter for insurance companies and is based on an assessment of the risks they are willing to accept and adequate provisioning to meet those risks.  In my role as Minister for Finance, I have responsibility for the development of the legal framework governing financial regulation.  Neither I, nor the Central Bank of Ireland, can interfere in the provision or pricing of insurance products or have the power to direct insurance companies to provide flood cover to specific individuals.

The Government policy in relation to flooding is focused on the development of a sustainable, planned and risk-based approach to dealing with flooding problems, with a view to addressing the increased availability of flood insurance. To achieve this aim, there is a focus on prioritising spending on flood relief measures, development and implementation of plans by the Office of Public Works (OPW) to implement flood relief schemes and the transfer of data in relation to completed flood defence schemes to the insurance industry by the OPW. 

The current flooding crisis has raised issues in relation to insurance and flooding. The Taoiseach and some other of my colleagues in Government met the insurance industry yesterday to discuss the industry role in providing flood insurance. The Taoiseach has asked the insurance industry to revert back within two weeks on the provision of insurance in areas where demountable defences are in place, along with details on the availability of insurance in areas with flood defences. I would also note that my own officials are undertaking a comparative analysis of the different approaches to flood insurance in other countries.