merrion street

Minister Seán Canney, TD, Minister of State with special responsibility for the Office of Public Works and Flood Relief met the representative body of the insurance industry, Insurance Ireland to discuss matters of mutual interest and concern on Wednesday 6 Jul 2016.

Minister Canney, in welcoming his opportunity to meet Insurance Ireland outlined significant developments in relation to flood risk management including the Government’s decision to provide €430 million for flood relief in the Capital Investment Plan 2016 – 2021 and the forthcoming publication of and public consultations on the draft Flood Risk Management Plans being developed under the CFRAM programme.
Minister Canney stated “I note the Memorandum of Understanding between my Office, the Office of Public Works and Insurance Ireland that is providing a forum for both organisations to work together to share data required by the industry to inform their assessment of risk. My Office has provided details on all completed schemes to date and I have requested Insurance Ireland to provide detailed information on numbers currently with flood insurance in these areas and of particular interest, the data on numbers re-insured after the completion of flood defence schemes. In view of the importance of this dialogue, I also welcome the agreement at my request that quarterly meetings of the Working Group now be convened to assist in this regard”.
The use of demountable defences on flood schemes was also discussed. Minister Canney highlighted these defences are built to the required standard and to provide robust levels of flood protection to properties. The Minister welcomed the commitment by Insurance Ireland to assess the risk from the deployment protocols, warning systems and emergency response systems in place where demountable defences are utilised. Insurance Ireland and OPW will begin the work to share information on the performance and deployment procedures of these defences. Minister Canney concluded “My Office will liaise immediately with Insurance Ireland with the information required to inform their members on the successful deployment of these types of defences in schemes throughout the country”
ENDS