Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It was Deputy Corcoran Kennedy and not me who suggested we should invite this group in. I thank the witnesses for providing details of the management recommendations that are adhered to in some locations. It is clear that Irish Water will have a role in this regard into the future. Responsibility for waste water treatment plants is being transferred to that body. Does Cré expect that new issues will arise in the context of the new arrangements? Has Irish Water engaged with Cré on this issue to date? I would like to ask about the tertiary treatment plants, the largest of which are taking in tankerloads of sewage in increasing numbers. A plant in my local area is causing all sorts of problems because the size of the tankers means that certain access routes have to be used. It appears that the new septic tank regime will lead to an increase in arrangements of this kind. The dry material that comes out at the end of the tertiary treatment process goes into landfill. Is that material of value for spreading on the land, or does it have to be sent to landfill? My final question relates to industries that discharge large amounts of waste into treatment plants. It could be problematic if certain substances used by industry as part of the manufacturing process - heavy metals, etc. - were found in the material that is discharged by such industries. How can that be dealt with?