Minister for State to meet Cork County Council over flood insurance

County Mayor welcomes planned meeting with Robert Troy in bid to ensure those at risk of flooding can get insurance cover

Soldiers from 1 Brigade Signals at a Cork County Council depot filling and delivering sandbags to protect against further flooding in Midleton on October 20, 2023. Picture: Larry Cummins

Minister for State Robert Troy has agreed to meet a Cork County Council delegation to discuss how to provide flood insurance for hundreds of homeowners in the region who have lost it following Storm Babet.

Mr Troy, who has responsibility for financial services, insurance, and credit unions, agreed to a meeting after the local authority urged the Government to come up with a scheme to cover loss as insurance companies are refusing to provide it for households and businesses that were previously flooded, or are located in potential flood zones.

In a letter to the council Mr Troy said that while the Government will put €1.3bn into flood defence schemes around the country between now and 2030, it recognises that the availability of flood insurance is a significant issue for many communities.

Flooding in Midleton during Storm Babet in 2023. Picture: Cork County Council

He said the Government wants to develop a long-term strategic approach to the flood insurance gap and officials in the Department of Finance have been engaging extensively with Insurance Ireland about this.

Midleton-based Fianna Fáil councillor Ann Marie Ahern said: “In East Cork, there are now a vast number of homeowners and businesses which currently are not covered in any which way for flood damage, and I’m delighted the minister wants to discuss this with us.

He’s one of the first ministers that I can remember who’s agreed to engage with us on anything. 

The Mayor of County Cork Mary Linehan-Foley said the council’s general purposes committee will prepare suggestions in advance of meeting Mr Troy and his officials.

However, one previous suggestion by Ms Ahern that the Government adopt a similar approach to that in Britain seems to have been ruled out by Mr Troy.

The British system provides a small levy on all insurers which is used to pay out on flood claims by people who don’t have that cover.

Mr Troy said the Department of Finance has examined this policy but concluded that, unlike the massive British insurance market, the Irish model was too small to sustain such a system.

The department concluded that adopting the British model could lead to a bigger percentage increase in the cost of insurance here and a potential financial exposure to the State.

Mr Troy added that he continues to engage with the chief executives of major insurance companies to address the situation and that the Government is looking at securing a more sustainable and competitive market by deepening and widening the supply of insurance.

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