Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)

I am part of a rural community. I grew up in a small cottage in a rural area where toilets and septic tanks were only introduced in the 1960s. I can remember when there were no toilets. Many of my neighbours' houses were built on perhaps one eighth of an acre or less. In the 1960s they put in their own makeshift septic tanks. From 1975 onwards the planning regulations were introduced specifying that the minimum size of a site must be a quarter of an acre. That became half an acre and it is in excess of that currently.

A number of houses were built on a laneway close to the village of Fenit. It was an old village itself at one time. A total of 15 or 20 small cottages were built on a site about the size of the Chamber. The owners put in their own septic tanks at the time. I tried to help them connect to the main sewer which passes their front door. The Minister might remember that I raised the issue previously. The cost per house for them to connect a pipe from their own septic tank to be connected by the county council to the public sewer was €10,120. The people concerned are in their late 60s or early 70s and have lived there all their lives. They cannot afford to do the work. They will not be compliant with any of the standards introduced between 1975 and 2009. They do not have the frontage or the space. Inevitably, if they want to be legally compliant it will cost them €10,120 to join up with the public sewer. That is one example from the small area where I live. I am sure that similar situations will arise all over the country.

The Minister commented on people having to be compliant with the new standards, whenever we see them. I am concerned that no financial hardship would be imposed on people. What does the Minister mean by "financial hardship"? Is he saying that he will put a grant system in place to ensure that people will have access to funding to help them become compliant? Will it be the case that, as happened in many areas in the past, it will depend on whom one knows to approach a Deputy, Minister or someone who could try to resolve the issue? Will the system be means tested? We need to know what the Minister is thinking.

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