Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Workers and Unemployed Action Group)

It bears repeating what several Members have said, that everybody agrees pollution must be tackled to ensure clean drinking water for every household in the country. There is no dispute about that. However, there is a view out there, fuelled by this legislation, that our drinking water is, if not the worst in the world, then certainly the worst in Europe.

In that context, it is important to state precisely the position in regard to the pollution of water by septic tanks. The Environmental Protection Agency's report, Water Quality in Ireland 2007-2009, found that 85% of ground water bodies were of good status. Moreover, of the 15% that were of poor status, the EPA found that the greatest proportion of contamination was caused by the input of pollutants, mainly phosphate, probably from agricultural activities, with on-site waste water treatment systems being identified as possibly a minor source. The report of the eastern river basin management plan, which covers the north-eastern, mid-eastern and eastern counties of Louth, Cavan, Offaly, Meath, Westmeath, Kildare, Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford, was similarly clear in its findings. It estimated that 75% of the costs associated with effecting improvements in water quality to the required levels by 2015 relate to the municipal and industrial sectors, with septic tank improvements amounting to only 5% of the total costs. While we are all agreed on the need to ensure supplies of clean, fresh drinking water, the suggestion that drinking water in Ireland is anything but good is simply inaccurate. The independent reports from the EPA and others are there to prove that. Moreover, those reports make clear that septic tanks are responsible only to a very minor degree for water contamination.

There is huge opposition to this legislation among rural dwellers. I spoke at several meetings in south Tipperary at which up to 1,000 people attended. One of the main queries arising is the question of standards. It is an entirely reasonable query. As it is, we are effectively being asked to buy a pig in a poke. The Minister tells us he knows what the standards will be, but nobody else seems to know. I certainly do not. As such, I support Deputy Brian Stanley's amendment No. 1. It is a reasonable and commonsensical proposal. For the large numbers of people who are affected by this legislation, it is a proposal that is of key concern. They want to know the standards to which their septic tanks will have to conform and who will pay for the remediation measures that may be required.

Quite apart from the question of whether one supports this legislation, and I do not, the demand that there be transparency in regard to standards is reasonable and sensible. Rural people, irrespective of what the Minister or my colleague from south Tipperary, Deputy Tom Hayes, says, are confused and concerned. They have a right to know what the standards will be, and that information should be included in the legislation. I support the amendment.

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