Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)

That is a good question. If we had proper clarity on these questions each time, we would be right. It is not that I was not listening but I did not hear the answer the Minister gave to Deputy Stanley. He referred to going back to 1965 and before that. I am discussing the man in Limerick whose name I have before me. Deputy Collins will check it out for me anyway. This man received a visit last year, in February 2011, from a council official. He was informed there was an issue with the tank, for which he received planning permission 20 years previously. It was not granted anywhere near 1965, 1975 or 1985. It would have been during the 1990s. He built it to standard and installed it. He is a bachelor and on his own so there would not be any great pressure of usage on it. Apparently, someone objected to it because it was too near a stream. If it was too near the stream, I do not believe it caused the problem and neither does he. The tank was assessed and examined. There was no leakage, seepage or outfall but he was still obliged to move it. He was informed that as part of the tests he had to undergo, the tank had to come up to the 2009 levels. This is the kernel of it.

Like Deputy Ó Cuív, I am keen for the Minister to put it on the record of the House. He has made many commitments on the record of the House and in committee and I accept that. I wish to know the reference numbers in primary law and secondary law, that is, the relevant statutory instruments. What legislative provisions are in place to back up his claims?

Sometimes the Minister is positive but sometimes he is glib too. Deputy Coffey and I know, as do all the other Deputies, that the 2009 guidelines are being enforced daily. I will attend two site planning meetings tomorrow morning with an engineer and we will have problems because they are there for a reason. How can the Minister state that the pre-1965 standards apply?

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