I thank the Deputy for raising this matter again. I acknowledge that he has engaged with me on this on a number of occasions. I reiterate my earlier acknowledgement regarding the serious damage caused by the recent flood events and the impact they have had on families, communities and businesses across Ireland. As previously stated, insurance reform, including increasing the affordability and accessibility of insurance, including for flood insurance, remains a key priority for the Government. Building on the work carried out by the Central Bank, the Action Plan for Insurance Reform 2025-2029 includes four specific actions on flood and climate protection. With respect to action 17 of the action plan, the Department of Finance is currently engaging with multiple stakeholders on the development of a long-term strategic approach to the provision of flood insurance to consider potential solutions specific to Ireland to increase the availability and affordability of flood insurance. An update on this work will be provided at the next Cabinet subgroup on insurance reform. This work builds on the extensive research undertaken by the Central Bank of Ireland into the nature and scale of the flood protection gap in Ireland, which I mentioned earlier identified a flood insurance protection gap of approximately 5% of buildings in Ireland that have limited access to flood insurance. Flood insurance alone cannot address the totality of the flood protection gap and current Government policy remains focused on the development of a sustainable, planned and risk-based approach to managing flooding. As such, the Government remains committed to protecting Ireland's present and future generations by investing in climate adaption measures to manage the impacts of extreme weather. Accordingly, €1.3 billion has been committed to the delivery of flood relief schemes over the lifetime of the national development plan to 2030. This will protect approximately 23,000 properties across various communities from river and coastal flood risk. My officials will continue to monitor developments at EU and international level and assess flood insurance matters, including through participation in the OPW and Insurance Ireland working group. These matters remain a priority for this Government and efforts continue to be made to encourage a responsive approach from the insurance industry.
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With due respect, flood defence measures are an important part-----
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-----of providing protection for households and businesses. Speaking to any of the unfortunate householder or businesses in areas where the schemes have been held up for a myriad of reasons over the past number of years, they eagerly await the roll-out of the flood defence mechanisms. It is fair to say that in many constituencies, such as in Athlone in my own constituency, where permanent flood defence measures have been introduced, they have brought a real sense of confidence and reassurance to people who have previously been affected by flooding. It is unfortunate that heretofore the insurance companies have not recognised in a meaningful way State investment in permanent flood defence mechanisms. That is why I met with my colleague, Minister of State, Deputy Moran and I am due to meet with my colleague, Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, next week in relation to outstanding issues with a service level agreement to ensure insurance companies step up to the plate in relation to areas where flood defences have been erected. I will come back in the next reply regarding areas where there are no flood prevention mechanisms in place.
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I thank the Deputies for raising their points. I do not know whether Deputy Byrne was present earlier when I mentioned that the Cabinet committee on climate action, environment and energy is meeting tomorrow to examine what immediate measures can be taken to protect areas where there is a longer lead-in for permanent flood defence measures to be introduced. In relation to Deputy Callaghan's points on the thatched issue, that is something I am acutely aware of. It is a very niche part of the market. I have been in London meeting insurance companies to explore the possibility of seeing what level of appetite they might have in this regard. I have also met the representative body in relation to the thatched industry. I am happy to engage with the Deputy further in that regard. In relation to the main question, there is an acknowledgement that an intervention is needed. That is why it is one of the priority actions in the action plan for insurance reform. There are ten priority actions. This is one of the priority actions to develop a long-term strategic approach for the provision of flood insurance. That will require working with the Central Bank, insurance industry, Department of Finance and OPW. Today, I met with a representative of the insurance industry who sits on its flooding task force. I expect a proposal to come from the task force within a number of weeks. It might be in a month or so. The Government will explore that proposal and look at what support we can put in place to ensure flood insurance is something people can expect in the not too distant future. To clarify my remarks in the Business Post, such support will not be exclusively for businesses. Any scheme we look to introduce would be inclusive in supporting both residents and businesses.
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The Government is progressing the commitments in the programme for Government to further reform the insurance sector in Ireland and ensure transparency, affordability and availability of insurance for all consumers. Significant progress was achieved through the 2020 action plan for insurance reform. Key measures delivered included the introduction of the personal injuries guidelines, legal reforms to rebalance the duty of care and the establishment of the office to promote competition in the insurance market. Those actions helped to create a more competitive market and have supported new entrants into the Irish insurance sector. The Action Plan for Insurance Reform 2025-2029, published in July 2025, is comprised of 26 actions being led across a number of Departments, ten of which are priority actions. Of those priority actions, transparency in the insurance sector is a key priority, with a transparency code for the insurance industry well advanced and to be published in the coming weeks. The code will require insurers to provide simple, understandable explanations of how premiums are formed, what mitigating actions may be available to customers and what broader factors influence pricing. It will also ensure consumers can directly receive additional information, upon request, to better understand the factors impacting their premium. Work is ongoing in the office to promote competition in the insurance market to enhance competition. Meetings have taken place with insurers to address capacity issues. The office has established a speciality forum to explore the speciality insurance sector and examine how Ireland can be effectively positioned and promoted as a leading jurisdiction for speciality insurance business. My Department is also working closely with the Office of Parliamentary Counsel to the Government to progress the right-to-be-forgotten legislation to ensure fair access for cancer survivors to financial services, specifically mortgage protection insurance, and to allow the Bill to progress in the coming weeks. The Government is firmly committed to addressing the cost and availability of insurance through implementing the reforms set out in the programme for Government and the Action Plan for Insurance Reform 2025-2029.
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We have seen an increase in car insurance in the past 12 months but that came on the back of reductions over the previous number of years. The previous action plan delivered savings in the motor insurance industry in particular. I acknowledge that some of those gains have started to be eroded. That is why there was a need to introduce a further action plan to continue to build on the progress of its predecessor. The Central Bank collates insurance data on an annual basis, which it makes available. That is how we can track what progress is being made in terms of how insurance premiums were decreasing for a number of years but, sadly, have increased in the past 12 to 18 months. Were it not for some of the actions introduced by the previous action plan, we would have seen significant increases in recent years as a result of market conditions.
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To be fair to the insurance industry, and we quite frequently stand to criticise it, providers introduced a voluntary code of practice in this area back in December 2023. It was on the back of that voluntary code that we were able to see the difference the right to be forgotten makes to cancer survivors. We have brought forward provisions in the Central Bank (Amendment) Bill 2025 to put that voluntary code on a statutory basis. It is my intention to bring the Bill to Committee Stage within the next couple of months at the very outside. It will make a very real and meaningful difference to people who have survived cancer diagnoses and come out the other side by ensuring they are able to get on with their life and avail of a mortgage. I do not have the figures to hand but in the 12- to 18-month period after the introduction of the voluntary code, something in the region of 1,200 people benefited. It is a really significant improvement and I hope to be in a position to bring the Bill to Committee Stage within the next two months.
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First, I would like to acknowledge the serious damage caused by recent storm events, and the impact they have had on families, communities and businesses. In the aftermath of Storm Bram and Storm Chandra, I engaged with Insurance Ireland, the representative body for the Irish insurance industry, regarding the insurance sector’s response to claims and reiterated the Government’s expectations that insurance companies should treat policyholders fairly and expediently in the context of claims relating to Storm Bram. Insurance companies actively track storm events to ensure adequate readiness and resource allocation. For both storm events, Insurance Ireland advised that in advance of each storm, the insurance companies took preparatory measures such as informing the public on their websites and social media platforms and activating surge plans in anticipation of the increased call volumes. The insurance companies were well prepared and were actively assisting their policyholders. For the most recent storm, Storm Chandra, Insurance Ireland has advised my officials that it is too early to quantify the overall cost of damage arising from the storm. Clean-up and assessment work is ongoing, and a clearer picture will emerge over the coming weeks. Insurers have resources in place and are on hand to support any homeowners or business owners who have unfortunately experienced flood or storm-related damage. Claims teams and emergency assistance services are fully operational and insurers are actively monitoring claims as they come in. Insurance Ireland’s insurance information service has also been available to assist members of the public who may need additional support or help navigating the claims process. My Department will continue to engage with Insurance Ireland concerning the recent storms to ensure insurers remain focused on processing claims fairly and efficiently and on working closely with service providers to expedite assessments and repairs. These matters remain a priority for this Government and efforts continue to be made to progress a responsive approach from the insurance industry.
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I thank the Deputy. I will need to ask the insurance industry about that specific question he raised regarding how a previous flood claim may exclude people from future cover. I cannot quantify if that has happened in the past, and, if so, in how many instances. I will undertake to get that information and relay it to the Deputy. It is a problem. We mentioned in previous replies that approximately 5% of buildings are excluded from flood insurance because of previous floods or because they have been identified in a flood risk map as potentially flooding in future. That is why one of the priority actions in the action plan for insurance reform is a commitment to develop a long-term strategic approach to the provision of flood insurance. My Department is working with the OPW, the insurance industry and the Central Bank to bring forward a proposal. I met with a representative of the insurance industry flood task force, and they have given a commitment that they will bring forward a proposal from the insurance industry within the next number of weeks, at which stage we will review it within the Department, working with the Central Bank and the OPW.
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I would love to think that the insurance companies would help with flood prevention mechanisms, but I do not think that is realistic. The challenge and the frustration of Government, and I made this point in reply to a previous question, is that insurance companies have not responded positively where the Government has expended large sums of money installing permanent flood defence mechanisms and where policyholders in those areas are still finding it difficult to obtain insurance. I met the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, on this issue today. I am meeting the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, on this issue next week to see how we can bring about the relevant changes that are needed to ensure insurance companies come to the table and respect and acknowledge the fact that this State has expended tens of millions of euro putting in permanent flood defence barriers and, at the same time, they are not willing to take on the risk in those areas. That is something we need to look at, but that stakeholder group will be convening next month to explore the proposals from the insurance industry in relation to flood insurance into the future.
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