Claims fund for Enniscorthy flood victims would provide ‘long-term sustainability’ for those unable to get insurance

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

With homeowners in Enniscorthy continuing to count the cost of last month’s floods, calls have been made to ensure their properties are protected financially in the event of further flooding.

At the February meeting of Wexford County Council (WCC), Enniscorthy councillors Pat Kehoe and Trish Byrne submitted a motion calling upon the government to set in place provisions for those who can’t get insurance for their homes or businesses.

Asking that the Irish Public Bodies (IPB) be tasked with providing “insurance cover for residential and commercial properties that are unable to obtain insurance from commercial insurers due to previous flooding events or because they are located within designated flood risk zones”, the Fine Gael councillors accepted that the “risk profile of such properties makes it uneconomic for the private insurance market to provide cover on a commercial basis”.

IPB is a semi-state body which insures some of the largest risks in the public sector.

Cllrs Kehoe and Byrne also called on Finance Minister Simon Harris TD to “introduce a modest, ring-fenced insurance levy” to “establish and support a national flood insurance claims fund, which would underpin the provision of such cover and ensure long-term sustainability”.

Arguing that access to insurance is “essential for the protection of homeowners, businesses, community viability, and local economic resilience, and that a state-supported mechanism is required to address this market failure” the councillors’ motion was subsequently passed in the chamber and will now be submitted to central government for review.

On Tuesday, January 27, businesses and residents scrambled to protect their premises from river water after the Slaney burst its banks during Storm Chandra in the early hours or the morning.

River levels not seen in over 20 years resulted in dozens of homes and businesses being destroyed by flooding. Burger Mac, which has two locations in Enniscorthy and Wexford Town, recently announced to their customers that the future of the business in Enniscorthy is currently uncertain.

Although the restaurant has been in business and serving food to the local community for over 20 years, the recent floods at the end of January badly damaged the Enniscorthy premises, forcing them to close.

The business was previously affected badly by the floods in 2016 during Storm Frank, with the costs of repair totalling €100,000.

This follows news that the Rejuvenate Treatment Rooms in the Riverside Park Hotel have closed their doors for good, and instead the staff will be focusing on their sister salon Finishing Touches, with many residents and businesspeople worried about further closures in the coming weeks.