Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)

Having listened to the debate, it comes down to the issue of standards, which is the subject of the amendment tabled by Sinn Féin, which we are supposed to be discussing. My concern relates to site size. I heard what the Minister said and the assurances that were given, but this is not contained in the legislation. In relation to the site size, the issues include the size of the septic tanks, the location of the septic tanks, the quality of the percolation area, the location on the site of the septic tank, the maintenance of the septic tank and the frequency of the desludging and emptying of the tank. They are the issues with which the inspectors will deal. The Minister is being flaky on this and his predecessor, Mr. Gormley, was accused of being flaky. The Minister's answers have been very non-specific. This measure will be eased in and the EPA inspectors will not be flaky but will be very specific on this.

I wish to return to the issue of grants. I agree with the Minister on the risk-based approach. I hope he is talking about using the mapping system close to water sources and that it is not risk-based as in risk of each tank. I hope that is what he is talking about and, if it is, it is good news. That said and in the context of whether there to be an army of EPA licensed inspectors carrying out inspections, we must have grants in place, and the Minister has said he will examine that in 2013. He said the other day that he might yet consider a scheme of grants to be brought in, or he was quoted as having said that in an article in The Irish Times. That is the furthest I have heard the Minister go in that respect. The Minister has to give an upfront commitment in the House today to implement a scheme of grants. I outlined to the Minister a case-----

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