Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)

No. This legislation discriminates against citizens across rural Ireland and has not been properly discussed. Like others, my party has brought forward a series of amendments, some of which might not even be reached. We are proposing, for example, a grants system to ensure those who cannot bear the cost involved would be assisted. The standards against which septic tanks will be measured have not yet been set down and homeowners do not even know the size of the bill they could be faced with to upgrade their septic tank.

I am mindful that this issue dates back to 1975 and was dealt with by a number of Governments involving the Labour Party, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil and that there is now a rush to deal with it. It seems to be a characteristic of the Government to rush measures through the House. However, I ask the Taoiseach to allow adequate time for discussion of a raft of amendments to the Bill.

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