Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)

The Minister should not believe that if he is looking down his nose at Deputies Ferris, Mattie McGrath or Healy-Rae, he will get away with it. There are many people behind us and the Minister is looking down his nose at them. It is not nice, and no Deputy or Minister should do it. The Minister should know better. I would not have to say anything to him if he did not draw me on him. That is the Minister's fault.

I am totally opposed to what is going through today and tomorrow. The people with the septic tanks should be left alone and the polluters - such as the local authorities - should be dealt with. Every town and village in Ireland should have a system that is 100%, with not one inch of pollution. If that could be done, the Minister could start talking about septic tanks and other issues. We all know it is not the person living in a rural location with a septic tank who is causing pollution in our waterways. The Minister is going after the wrong people and imposing an expense that is totally unnecessary. He is ignoring the elephant in the room, which is our local authorities. What is going on in some of our villages around the country is shameful. Having spoken to other Deputies, it appears that is the case in the majority of towns and villages.

There are Deputies who support the Minster but who return to their constituencies to argue that they are with the people. I wonder what those Deputies will do when we have votes today and tomorrow on the issue. Will they stand with the people who elected them or with the Minister in the folly he is pursuing? Deputies will vote on this issue.

They should give serious consideration to what they are doing. It is not just the people in the Chamber who are looking at them - the eyes of Ireland will be on them today and tomorrow in terms of what they do. They can stand with the people or stand with the Government, but I remind them that they cannot do the two things. One is either with the Government on the issue or one is against it. I remind Deputies not to try to be all things to all people because that is not going down so well in the constituencies either.

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