I raise the inability of thousands of people in County Clare to get flood insurance for their homes and businesses. I recall when, in 2009, the lower River Shannon spilled its banks and flooded streets, pitches and many areas. However, only two homes in the whole county of Clare actually took water inside the front door that winter. Yet, the response of the insurance industry has been risk equalisation, an awful term. The practice works very well on the health front - everyone gets health cover but they pay for it - but not when it comes to homes. If someone's home has been bone dry and never took in a drop of water and if the topography of land is different such that one home is 20 ft higher than another, why can people in Shannon town, Shannon Banks and Westbury - about 6,000 people - not get flood cover at the moment? It gets worse, though. When they try to sell their homes and due diligence and conveyance are carried out, the sale often falls through because the solicitor will tell people not to go near the home because the owners cannot get flood cover. What can the Government do to address this?

I thank Deputy Crowe for his good wishes and for highlighting the issue of flood insurance and the challenge in accessing it for his constituents. I know this is a very real and sensitive issue in his part of the country and a number of other parts as well. Just last week, I appointed Deputy Richmond as Minister of State at the Department of Finance with responsibility for insurance. I will ask that he arrange to have an early meeting with the Deputy on this matter.