Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

The 2009 EPA regulations, which I support, are for new build. They will not be required to deal with this problem, even though Fianna Fáil and Deputies Mattie McGrath and Michael Healy-Rae want to implement them.

Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív regularly says there was no investment in rural Ireland to deal with water and wastewater matters. That might have been the case but not anymore. The Government of which he was a member - I supported him on this - spent €500 million from 2006 in dealing with water and wastewater matters in rural Ireland. We have also spent €2,000 per house in group sewerage schemes which need to be examined again. We also spend €2,000 where a household has a difficulty with its water pump or replacing its well. These are for rural people-----

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