Mr. John McCarthy:

Just with regard to fines, we have had experience in Ireland of two cases in which we have been fined previously. One related to an environmental impact assessment directive and the other related to septic tanks. The amounts involved were relatively small. They were in the low single digits of millions of euro by virtue of the fact that in both cases we were nearly in compliance by the time the judgment had been arrived at.

The Deputy's question was whether we have looked at the potential for what fines might be. There is a mechanism set out in the European framework. It takes into account a number of factors. To give an example of other fines with regard to the urban wastewater treatment space, in October 2013, Belgium was ordered to pay a lump sum fine of €10 million and a daily fine of nearly €5,000. In November 2013, Luxembourg was ordered to pay €2 million plus a daily fine of €2,800. In October 2015, Greece was ordered to pay a fixed lump sum of €10 million and a daily fine of €20,000, which is the equivalent of €7.3 million per annum. In June 2016, Portugal was ordered to pay €3 million and a daily payment of €8,000. Each fine is determined by reference to the facts of the individual case, but we have consistently prioritised funding-----