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A NEW SURVEY shows there is no appetite among homeowners to help their counterparts in areas at risk of flooding to get insurance.
According to the research, homeowners are “emphatically against” an idea mooted by Minister Phil Hogan to introduce a 1 per cent levy to enable 50,000 houses to get flood cover.
The AA Consumer Panel of 16,500 people met the idea with “widespread cynicism”.
Just 13 per cent of those polled gave their full support to a plan to enhance flood prevention infrastructure along Ireland’s coasts and rivers.
AA Director of Consumer Affairs Conor Faughnan gives the Minister more credit for his idea, calling it a “constructive proposal” to a “real problem”.
“However…People seemed to be supportive of the principle but had little faith that government would use the money appropriately. 87 per cent did not believe that the State would keep a promise to spend the money on flood relief; 76 per cent felt that paying property tax was enough.”
The research indicated that if the proposed tax was used for a no-hods barred access to flood insurance cover for every home – irrespective of claims history or location – then support would be slightly stronger. However, 28 per cent were still completely opposed.
Many participants in the survey expressed frustration at the granting of planning permission by local authorities in these areas.
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If introduced it’s another insurance levy we’ll be stuck with forever more. If I live on top of a hill 3mile from nearest river and 20miles from the sea, why should I subsidise other peoples insurance???
Let local authorities sort out their own planning disasters. I live on a hill. Turns out to be pretty flood resistant.
No more levies! Levies are this governments answer to everything and I’m sorry but why should everyone suffer for bad planning regulations. Insurance is supposed to be paid on risk assessment. We already pay a levy on all insurance policies. Levies in this country are just another tax in everything but name. Phil Hogan please just go away you are just disastrous and a hazard to this country and it’s citizens.
It is a cute whor* tax the levy. It is all about perception. The government said they wouldn’t touch income tax however they didn’t say they wouldn’t ride us in other ways which they are doing very well.
A basic tenet of insurance is that you pay based on risk. Gender equalisation was the first nonsense step against everything insurance is supposed to be.
And we’re still paying for PMPA going bust. Govt Levies on Insurance are another form of tax and they are levied on ALL policies.
Use THOSE tax funds Govt.
I too am sorry for people who purchased a house in an area that floods but I don’t see why I should pay for their poor choice.
If councils need to spend money on flood defence isn’t this what the property tax is for.
I’m paying enough for everyone else already.
Put a levy on sky sports so us that can’t afford it can watch our national amateur games. Levy everything country is gone to sh-t
Rightly so and it shouldnt have been question. The homepwners should take the local councles.to court over it through poor planning decisions.
NEWSFLASH:: Minister Phil Hogan has said that any decision regarding the introduction of a Flood Levy will be withheld until after the May elections
This idea is just flat out stupid! In the same week as a comprehensive report on global warming & climate change the irish government idea is it will be grand, we’ll make everybody pay and leave everything as it is. I have empathy for the people living is flood affected areas but this solves nothing.
You think Big Ignoramus Phil I don’t care Hogan gives a crap what the public think?. You can bet your life he doesn’t.
His answer to everything always seems to be more taxes.
Can I opt out of flood insurance on my policy and save a few quid?
if it was a Leevy to be paid for local authorities to boost their flood defences then I’d be all for it but a Leevy because insurance companies are looking after their balance books is just a non starter.
When local authority councillors (with zero planning/engineering competence) under influence from developers, vote to overturn their own professional planners, in order to further their own political interests, and allow development on flood plains, you create a flood risk that other wise would not exist.
Now until that system permanently changes it would be madness to open out purse strings to assist those effected. Fix the system, and all of us would be happy to help those effected.
It would be nice to live in a flood zone and get new stuff every year and not have the worry of paying for it
Lowest income tax but most taxed/levied country, time to put a stop to it.
This levy won’t apply to any region of Ireland where it doesn’t rain.
And when the Insurance Companies make more profit……..do we get our money back?
To be topical about it………..it is no different, as to giving Rehab funding for ‘not’ making a profit on their scratchcards! Like Angela Kerins……..insurance company will line their own pockets as a result!
Provided that the persons unable to get flood insurance have to pay something toward the cost I can have some sympathy for the proposal but if I have to pay for their mistakes in selecting a flood prone location when they dont have to make a contribution, its unacceptable
For such a highly regarded charitable nation it really seems not to apply at home. Agreed the govt as previous govts are nothing but bottom feeders who tax the life and good out of people who try hardest but innocent families who flood should not be left alone.
I would have no problem making a once off generous donation towards the victims of flooding – but another levy on my already sky-high insurance policy would be too much to ask for. Insurance is one of the things every household tries to shave a few euros off. Anyway if it is so difficult to get insurance for a house because of fear of flooding that house should not be there in the first place, so why insure people to live in it? Doesn’t make sense.
Why not provide the flood defences that where promised in the election campaign. Same old shite, make a promise, break it and nothing happens to the politician because paddy and mary arent arsed doing anything about it.
I don’t know what a tracker mortgage is!!
Time to bring in Universal Home Insurance.
We’re already paying the Quinn levy @ 1%. I’d be in favour of transferring this 1% to home owners.
What about if it was capped at say €100 per household insurance premium. Look up the earthquake commission in New Zealand. Same principle. Everyone pays on their insurance to ensure that everyone has protection should an earthquake of significance occur. The commission manage all aspects of a rebuild/repair of property.
It saved thousands of people’s biggest investments after the Chch earthquakes…it could do the same if managed correctly in Ireland surely?
Look at a more relevant comparison like the US. They have had flood risk equalization and it has meant hundreds of billions in housing and infrastructure has been built and continues to be built in at risk areas. The cost of the scheme has increased constantly.
The people can stay were they want and pay for it themselves or they can be rehoused using a formula to calculate the subsidy they need. Would be a better long term solution and probably cheaper.
But all of New Zealand is at risk from earthquakes so everyone is covered by this as there is equal risk for all. Therefore it is in everyones interest to pay it. However not everyone in Ireland lives in an area at risk of flooding so a levy penalises those people. As insurance companies already make huge profits and as we are already levied on all insurance policies for previous erroneous decisions and bad judgement a line needs to be drawn where people say enough is though. A levy such as this proposal would not solve the problem and you can be sure premiums would be increased even more. As for a €100 flat cap no thanks. I pay more then enough for my own insurance without paying still more for other peoples. We pay such an extortionate amount of tax in this country how about the government stop wasting it on quangos, scandals, inflated wages and a still mismanaged public sector that remains bloated with managers while still being starved of much needed front line workers and essential services and actually uses some of it to provide these services and oh let’s say tax relief for people living in flood zones so they can claim some of their insurance premium back? But no as usual they just want to take more from the already screwed public.
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