Taoiseach dubious of UK flood scheme

The Government will look at the UK’s flood insurance scheme, but Taoiseach Enda Kenny said he was not sure it was as successful as predicted.

He also insisted that He cited the case of Carlisle in Cumbria, England where he said £38 million had been spent but 50,000 homes were then flooded.

Sinn Féin’s Pádraig Mac Lochlainn pointed out that the Government had cut the OPW’s risk management programme by €15.6 million, or 25 per cent of its fund, in the 2016 budget.

But the Taoiseach said the Government was providing €430 million over the next six years.

During a second day of Dáil questions linked to the flooding, Mr Kenny said the Defence Forces had been involved in flood relief work in eight counties.

He said they had responded to all calls from agencies seeking assistance and 200 personnel were deployed.

Game-changer

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin questioned the Taoiseach about whether he would consider the British not-for- profit insurance scheme.

Mr Martin said they needed a “game-changer” in policy to cover flood insurance in high- risk areas. He pointed out that it was the fourth time in six years that there had been flooding of this nature.

In 2013, he said, the UK government, along with the insurance sector, “agreed to develop a non-for-profit scheme, Flood Re, to allow flood insurance to remain widely affordable and available while allowing a sustainable transition to risk-reflective pricing over 25 years”.

Increasing storms

When Mr Kenny said they would look at the British flood insurance model, Mr Martin said that all the Taoiseach could pledge was to look at it, “despite the fact that we’ve had increasing storms of greater severity than we’ve ever had before more regularly”.

In response, Mr Kenny said the Government would spend €1 billion on 300 flood relief schemes over the next decade. He said the scheme couldn't be put into Bandon, Co Cork, which was badly affected by Storm Desmond, because a legal objection was going through the courts.

Mr Kenny said Minister of State Simon Harris would visit Bandon and areas affected by the floods to discuss the projects in hand as well as future developments

Mr Mac Lochlainn said the Government cut the OPW’s risk-management programme by 25 per cent in the budget. He said the Government’s PR “machine” had been out talking about €15 million in flood relief, but €10 million of it was already there and only €5 million was new.

But Mr Kenny said there were schemes under construction and others at design stage. They had to go through a planning process. “We cannot just move in with our bulldozers and announce what we’re going to do,” he said.