Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

I thank the Deputies on all sides of the House for contributing to this debate. It has generated a great deal of interest.

One of the issues that consistently arose was the possibility of financial support for upgrading and remediation of plants. Based on the experience with inspections in Cavan, the majority of the systems that were inspected were working well. It is expected, therefore, that only a minority of systems that are inspected would require major upgrading or replacement. I signalled in the Seanad my intention to keep the issue of financial support under review. It will not arise until the end of 2013 or early in 2014, when we will know the extent of the problem from the inspections that are carried out in 2013. As I said earlier, it is confined to the high risk areas. I will also be in a better position then to see how the finances of the local authorities and the country are positioned to deal with those issues.

A number of Fianna Fáil Deputies spoke about criminalising households. The maximum penalty to be imposed on an individual under this legislation is up to €5,000. There is no indictment, so nobody is criminalised with regard to the non-registration aspect of the Bill. In 2007, Fianna Fáil introduced the Water Services Act, which does criminalise people. It provides for penalties of up to €15 million in fines and five years in prison. It is interesting the Fianna Fáil Deputies did not mention that in the course of the debate.

It is true, and the EPA water quality report bears this out, that local authority waste treatment plants and facilities have been the cause of serious pollution incidents. Under the wastewater discharge regulations of 2007 all discharges to the aquatic environment from sewerage systems owned, managed and operated by local authorities require a wastewater discharge licence or a certificate of authorisation from the EPA. The authorities are required to apply to the agency for a licence or certificate of authorisation by set dates, depending on the population of the area served by the sewer network. The authorisation process provides for the agency to place very stringent conditions on the operation of such discharges to ensure that potential effects on the receiving water bodies are strictly limited and controlled. In overall terms, the aim is to achieve good surface water and groundwater status. Irrespective of the position with local authorities, the European Court of Justice ruling dealt with septic tanks and the ruling must be addressed on that basis.

I do not accept that the proposals are an unfair imposition on rural dwellers. The environmental and health issues must be dealt with as circumstances dictate and where the risks exist, for example, the banning of smoky fuels in Dublin and other areas in the 1980s. In the case of the proposed legislation regarding septic tanks, the protection of both ground and surface water quality, particularly drinking water sources, is paramount. In 2010, a HSE survey of private well quality in Counties Sligo and Leitrim revealed a rate of 76% non-compliance with standards required under the drinking water regulations. We must be mindful of the potential contamination of groundwater. This was highlighted explicitly in places such as Galway city in 2005 and 2006. Even if there had been no adverse ruling by the European Court of Justice, the pollution by on-site wastewater treatment systems would have to be dealt with to protect public health.

A huge amount of money has been spent in rural areas. Deputy Mattie McGrath must not realise that we are currently subsidising group water schemes in his constituency. A total of €0.5 billion has been spent on upgrading rural water supplies. A person can get a grant of €1,000 to replace a well. All these resources are targeted at rural people.

Last year, a total of €85 million was invested in the rural water programme, and I will be investing more money in 2012. In addition to that these amounts include payments from the Exchequer and the Local Government Fund under the group water schemes. To say money is not being invested in rural areas to upgrade the quality and quantity of our water supply-----

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