Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 October 2023
174. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform the options that are available to residents of Shannon town who cannot get flood insurance cover; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44848/23]
View answerThe Department of Finance has overall responsibility for policy matters in relation to insurance.
The Office of Public Works (OPW), through the Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) Programme, carried out the largest ever flood risk study in Ireland to date, which assessed 80% of properties at risk from Ireland’s main causes of flooding. The OPW Flood Maps, that show the flood risk for 300 communities, are a key output of the study together with 29 Flood Risk Management Plans, with the proposed flood relief measures to address the flood risk in each community.
The Flood Maps are available to the public at www.floodinfo.ie however, it is important to note that they are community based maps. The maps were not designed to designate individual properties at risk. Therefore they do not show individual properties and they do not identify if a property close to an extent is, or is not, within an area at risk of flooding. The maps show the probable extent of flooding based on future projections.
The Disclaimer and Conditions for Use of OPW Flood Maps on www.floodinfo.ie include a provision that users of the website must not use the Flood Maps, or any other content of the website, for commercial purposes. As such, the Disclaimer prevents insurance companies from using the flood maps generated by the OPW. The insurance industry has its own flood modelling tools for assessing the level of risk that it is willing to underwrite in relation to individual properties. It has highlighted to the OPW that it does not use the OPW Flood Maps to inform its flood modelling. The decision on whether to offer insurance, the level of premiums charged and the policy terms applied are matters for individual insurers. Insurance companies make commercial decisions on the provision of insurance cover based on their assessment of the risks they would be accepting on a case-by-case basis. The Government cannot interfere in the provision or pricing of insurance products, as reinforced by the EU framework for insurance (Solvency II Directive).
The OPW has a role to assist insurance companies to take into account the protection provided by completed flood defence schemes. In this regard, the OPW has a Memorandum of Understanding with Insurance Ireland, the representative body of the insurance industry. This Memorandum sets out principles of how the two organisations work together to ensure that appropriate and relevant information on these completed schemes is provided to insurers to facilitate, to the greatest extent possible, the availability to the public of insurance against the risk of flooding. While the Memorandum does not guarantee the availability of insurance, Insurance Ireland members have committed to take into account all information provided by the OPW when assessing exposure to flood risk within these protected areas.
Insurance Ireland, the representative body for insurance providers in this country, operates an Insurance Information Service for those who have queries, complaints or difficulties in relation to obtaining insurance, which can be contacted at 01 676 1914 or feedback@insuranceireland.eu. Similarly, Brokers Ireland, the representative body for insurance brokers, has access to a wide range of providers and products, and can offer advice for customers when sourcing cover. Brokers Ireland can be reached at 01 661 3067. Furthermore, where an individual considers that they have been treated unfairly, they have the option of making a complaint to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO). The FSPO can be contacted either by email at info@fspo.ie or by phone at 01 567 7000.
With regards to flooding in Shannon Town, Clare County Council confirmed that flash flooding is typically due to blockage or other interference with the drainage system, which coincides with intense periods of rainfall. To facilitate addressing the issue of flooding in Shannon Town, Clare County Council have increased their maintenance activity with the introduction of new gullies and scheduled jetting. Clare County Council also note that due to its maintenance programme there is only a limited number of locations remaining on the road network in Shannon Town that have repeated flooding issues.
To reduce the risk of flooding in Shannon Town over the longer term, the OPW, Shannon Group and Clare County Council are working together on the development of the Shannon Town and Environs Flood Relief Scheme with Clare County Council acting as the Contracting Authority for the project and funding provided by the OPW. Consultant engineers for the scheme are RPS.
Currently preliminary design options are being prepared and a final design option for this scheme is expected to be finalised in the coming months, with planning consent likely to be sought in the second half of 2024.
