There has been considerable flooding in Dublin city over the past 18 to 20 months. There was substantial flooding in February 2001 in the East Wall, North Strand and Ringsend areas and on 14 and 15 November 2002 there was a devastating flood in the Tolka River. Such extensive flooding over a brief period is a matter of considerable concern.
Tremendous damage was caused by the flood last November and I will concentrate on that because the damage caused by the other flood has been addressed. The local authority, in conjunction with the Office of Public Works, drafted a set of interim remedial proposals costing approximately €10 million to alleviate the worst effects of the flood and to render the Tolka River in a better position to cope with a flood in the short-term. Substantial work is in the pipeline and a review is due to be carried out on all the water channels in Dublin city. It is envisaged that the work will cost €100 million.
Remedial works costing €10 million were promised and agreed and I seek to ensure that money is made available. Limited remedial works, in comparison to those promised in a report carried out at the time of the Tolka River flood, have been carried out and constituents are not sure whether the balance of the work will be undertaken in 2003. It is important that the work is carried out because there have been two floods in that vicinity over the past 20 months. If it is not carried out, there will be many problems.
One of the major problems relates to the insurance industry. The industry, through letters issued by companies and statements made by its representative body, regards the inaction of the local authority and the Government as a reason to increase premia or not to provide quotes at all, particularly if the action to be taken is not sufficiently proportionate to the threat of future flooding. That is a serious matter and a number of residents have received letters of that nature.
Following the flooding in the East Wall area, representatives of Dublin City Council, the Irish Insurance Federation and local residents agreed proposals to address the flooding and because there was sufficient funding available to carry out the necessary remedial works, the insurance companies agreed that in those circumstances there would be a moratorium on premia increases and they would wait for the Government to ensure the work was carried out.
I call on the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Parlon, who has responsibility for the Office of Public Works, to host a meeting involving all the interested bodies to ensure policy holders do not receive letters similar to those I have described, a letter refusing to quote or a quote with a considerable excess. The way to avoid this is to negotiate in advance. Funding should be made available to carry out the work before the end of the year and a meeting should be hosted by the Minister of State.
