Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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71. To ask the Minister for Finance the advances that have been made between his Department and Insurance Ireland regarding the problems faced by potential home buyers in areas that have been flooded and in which substantial prevention and remedial works have taken place but who are still denied insurance cover for flooding. [1729/17]

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 then ensuring that they have adequate provisioning to meet those risks. Similarly, the demand by mortgage providers for flood insurance as an element of home insurance is also a commercial matter.

Insurance Ireland has informed me that its members, since 1 June 2014, have factored data on all completed flood defence schemes, provided by the OPW, into its assessment of flood risk within these areas. This information has been provided as part of an information sharing arrangement entered into between OPW and Insurance Ireland (Memorandum of Understanding). The nature of this arrangement is such that it should lead to a greater availability of flood cover in previously higher risk areas, and at better prices.

The most recent Insurance Ireland survey of approximately 85% of the property insurance market in Ireland indicates that of the 16 completed defence schemes, 90% of policies in areas benefitting from permanent flood defences include flood cover, while 77% of policies in areas benefitting from demountable defences include flood cover. The particular issues in relation to the remainder of policies is actively being explored with the insurance industry through a working group in which the OPW, the insurance industry and the Department of Finance participate. Further meetings of this group are scheduled this month.

Following a meeting last July between Minister of State Canney and Insurance Ireland it was agreed that information and data on the deployment protocols, warning systems and emergency response systems in place where demountable defences are utilised would be provided to industry. The purpose of this information is to enable the industry reassess the overall level of risk with demountable flood defences in this context. It is hoped that this data will provide the robust information required for industry to reduce the risk it has associated with demountable defences and increase the levels of cover for these areas. This is subject to ongoing discussions.