Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 June 2021
284. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide details of the recent works to reduce the risk of flooding carried out on the banks of the River Maine at a location (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29762/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Office of Public Works (OPW) is responsible for the maintenance of Arterial Drainage Schemes completed under the Arterial Drainage Act of 1945.
There is an extensive network of embankments under the auspices of the OPW at Castlemaine, Co. Kerry. These embankments are maintained on a regular basis and such maintenance works include vegetation management as well as structural repairs to any existing structures such as sluices and bridges forming part of the scheme.
In relation to flood insurance, the Department of Finance has overall responsibility for policy matters in relation to insurance. The OPW has a role to assist insurance companies to take into account the protection provided by completed OPW 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 of Understanding 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.
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. 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.
Insurance related complaints or queries may be directed to Insurance Ireland's Insurance Information Service (01 676 1914 or feedback@insuranceireland.eu). In addition, the Financial Services Ombudsman (1890 88 20 90) deals independently with unresolved complaints from consumers about their individual dealings with all financial service providers.
