Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

When we started to analyse the Bill in October, I made out the issues to be addressed. One is the abolition of the registration charge and another is clarity on how inspections will be funded because local authorities have stated they do not have the money. Another issue is the abolition of the appeal fee. We have made progress on these issues, but we must push them over the line.

In fairness to the Minister, we have also made progress on the issue of standards. At least he is now saying - if I understand him correctly - that on foot of an amendment tabled by Deputy Niall Collins public and Oireachtas consultation will take place on the standards to apply to maintenance and upgrading prior to the Bill and registrations being commenced. If he confirms this today, it will be another small step on what has been a tortuous road in dealing with the issues I raised last October.

The Minister has confirmed that planning permission will not be required. I have not had a chance to check the section under which the Minister has stated he can implement this. I will check, but I would like the Minister to speak on the issue now. He has also firmly committed on numerous occasions on the floor of Dáil Éireann to ensuring nobody will have to purchase any land to comply with the legislation, even if all of his or her septic tank is located on a neighbour's land. I do not know how he will do this because he has not shown us, but he has given this commitment to which he will be held by all of us on this side of the House. This is a step in the right direction. However, we need confirmation on several other issues on which we have tabled amendments. These include a commitment that no environmental screening or environmental impact analysis will be needed.

When all of these issues are dealt with, one outstanding issue will remain and it is a very simple one. It is amazing to hear the Minister state he cannot give the people a blank cheque. The honest answer is that a blank cheque is given without any cost to the people living in urban Ireland that all such systems will be brought up to EU standards because otherwise the Minister will be fined, as he knows. What he is stating is he cannot state that if he does it for urban dwellers because the European would be on his tail, he will also have to do it for rural dwellers because there must be equality for everybody. The people whom he is asking to write a blank cheque are the ordinary people of rural Ireland who are being asked to do so without knowing what standards will be applied.

The Minister keeps telling us the standards will not be onerous. Section 70L states clearly that the standards the Minister will lay down are those that will be advised to him by the agency. He knows that if the agency proposes higher standards than he has introduced, the NGOs will be on the first aeroplane to Brussels to state he did not accept the advice of the expert agency in the country which was legally obliged to advise him. He is asking us to believe it will tell us the document it produced in 2009 is only rubbish; that the ordinary people of Ireland do not need to comply with it; that if all someone has is a hole in the ground that was dug in 1950, all that person must do is comply with the standards that applied at the time, which was nothing; and that if that person must upgrade his or her system, he or she will not be told to what standard it must be done. That is absolute nonsense and he knows it.

We had an easy way to resolve this dispute. I find it difficult to see how the EPA will advise the Minister to ditch the 2009 document which specifically states it refers to upgrades as well as existing systems.

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