John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)

I acknowledge the need to protect our water services but I disagree with this unfair legislation, which will add further debt and suffering for those in negative equity who are in arrears with their mortgage payments and are struggling to feed their families and make ends meet. The tax discriminates in that it penalises people for living in rural communities with no direct access to public sewerage schemes. That is not their fault.

The introduction of the septic tank charges is massively discriminatory and possibly unconstitutional. It is an attack on the more than 1 million people who will be penalised by this extra charge. There is a fine of up to €5,000 for non-compliance. What adviser or civil servant hiding behind the Minister's cloak came up with the idea of frightening people with a fine of €5,000? These are people, including elderly people, who might not be able to pay. It is offensive and obnoxious, and simply proves how out of touch the Minister is with reality. Ordinary people living in rural communities cannot afford to pay for any extras. To frighten them with the €5,000 fine is appalling and deeply offensive.

When these people built their houses they complied with all the regulations. Now, they are being retrospectively penalised with this extra charge. They are being criminalised for this. They do not have access to taxpayer subsidised sewerage schemes in urban areas, where they would not have to worry about registration, inspection fees and the massive cost of septic tanks. To add insult to injury, the legislation fails to provide for any assistance to rural dwellers who might have to upgrade their systems. At the very least a retrofit scheme which provides, for example, tax relief and grant support where new or upgraded systems are required should have been considered by the Government. It is not too late to do so.

It is unfair of the Government to expect rural households to pay 100% of the costs of construction, maintenance, upgrading and inspection of wastewater treatment systems, in addition to the new household charge that will be introduced here next week or in January.

I draw the Minister's attention to the manner in which other jurisdictions have avoided inflicting the cost of this process directly on the householder. For instance, in Northern Ireland, any inspection costs are borne by the local environmental agency. Has that been given consideration here? In Scotland, all septic tanks must be registered by the households affected. They do not have to pay themselves, and there are no mandatory inspections. It appears that little thought has gone into the implementation of this scheme.

Has a costing been done on the proposed maximum registration fee of €50? How many county councils plan on charging a fee lower than €50? The Bill does not indicate what will be the maximum or minimum fee. If this Bill is passed there is no reason any council should be allowed charge any more than is absolutely necessary. The Minister might indicate the information that will be given to county councils in terms of when they charge, the way they charge and how much they can charge.

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