Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)

I would like to support Deputy Stanley's amendment. I do not think it is right to wait until the legislation has been passed before publishing the standards. We will be asked tomorrow to vote for a Bill without knowing what standards or guidelines will apply to any remedial works that will have to be carried out under it. The Minister is aware that the standards and guidelines that apply to percolation tests, when planning applications are made for the installation of septic tanks or biocycle units, have been changed on many occasions over the last 47 years. Depending on the guidelines and standards that are put in place, people who received planning permission between 1975 and 2009 might not meet those guidelines or standards. In such circumstances, remedial work will have to be carried out in accordance with whatever the new standards will be. I assume they will be consistent with the 2009 requirements, or close enough to them. Those whose systems do not pass the percolation test will find themselves having to carry out remedial work, which can be quite costly. Some of the Minister's officials have said the cost of such work could be as high as €17,000. That would depend on the type of land on which percolation tests were done and in respect of which planning permission was granted in the past. Obviously, that would be a frightening and alarming set of circumstances for people in rural Ireland.

When the standards are in place, Sinn Féin will fully support the carrying out of all remedial works to ensure the water table and water sources are protected. It would be an injustice if people who have done nothing illegal were compelled to carry out remedial works that could cost a great deal of money. They were given planning permission when they applied for it at the time and they have complied with it, including the guidelines regarding percolation and septic tank arrangements. They are now finding that they will not be in compliance with the guidelines. It might cost them a large sum of money to bring their systems up to the required standard. It is not their fault. It is certainly not the fault of anyone who applied for planning permission since 1975. The fault lies with successive Governments that failed to comply with the EU directives or regulations. There is no point in crying over spilt milk. We need to move forward by meeting the requirement, as determined by the EU, to protect water sources and water tables. While I fully support the carrying out of the necessary remedial works, it has to be conditional on people not being out of pocket as a result. The standards that applied in 1975 might not be in line with the standards that will be initiated as a result of this legislation. This needs to be borne in mind and a common-sense approach is needed. The Minister should indicate what those standards will be. All of us who represent rural communities are inundated with queries regarding the situation. Significant concerns and fears are being expressed. I have been involved in organising meetings to outline the content of the legislation and explain it to people who attend those meetings in large numbers, over 2,000 people in the four meetings I have attended. There is fear and we want to allay those fears and to reassure people that they will not be out of pocket again. They are being caught for every type of stealth charge. Rural Ireland is again being effectively discriminated against. All of us taxpayers have contributed to the cost of upgrading urban water treatment units and it now seems that rural Ireland will be held responsible and accountable for any funding necessary to bring its septic tanks or treatment units up to scratch. In my view this is unfair. The people of rural Ireland need to stand together on this issue and the Minister should be aware of this. The Minister represents a very large rural community and he is well acquainted with the views the Opposition is expressing. We want to be constructive and we want a situation where this can be addressed. All of us are very committed to protecting our water sources and the water table and to having a proper and adequate sewerage system in place for rural housing. It would help if the Minister would publish those standards and give us an opportunity to debate them in the House rather than deciding to publish them for public consultation after the standards have already been put in place. This is the wrong way to do business.

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