Flooding Fallout: Alan Kelly considering levy on insurers after floods

Environment Minister Alan Kelly is considering placing a levy on insurers after they refused to budge on the issue of flood insurance.

Mr Kelly has hit out at insurers for refusing to cover many homes and businesses in areas where movable defences have already been put in place.

Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe is expected to today announce €100m in funding to repair roads, bridges, and culverts which were damaged in flooding.

Mr Kelly and a number of cabinet colleagues recently met with Insurance Ireland on the issue. However, insurers have refused to budge and are still denying cover to areas where multimillion-euro demountable defences have been built.

Mr Kelly said the response simply isn’t good enough and he will now be considering other options.

It is understood a levy could be put on insurers’ profits. The money would then go to building more defences in flood-prone areas such as Bandon and Skibbereen which were badly hit by Storm Desmond.

The levy could also be used to provide cover for residents of at-risk areas.

Mr Kelly said: “I am not very happy with the insurance industry to call a spade a spade. The demountable situation, whereby demountable flood defences are put up, the insurance industry are saying that isn’t good enough in most cases.

“But at European level it is good enough so why in Ireland isn’t it good enough?

“I say the demountable flood defences work incredibly well in Clonmel and numerous locations over the flooding period, they were exceptional, they held the water, it was incredible to see it and they cost an awful lot of money?— we are talking close to €40m,” he told RTÉ radio.

In the Dáil yesterday, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said Mr Donohoe would reveal details of funding for flood-damaged roads today.

Mr Kenny said: “The local authorities have responded to the flooding consequen-ces around the country, and that has been sent to the Minister for Transport. Between that and the humanitarian scheme, the Red Cross scheme, the minister, Deputy Donohoe, will respond to this [today] with a budget of in excess of €100m to deal with the consequences of flooding.”

A spokesman at the Department of Transport said details of this funding were being finalised last night.