Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The problem is that none of us has been provided with the numbers.

The people of Arklow and 40 other towns in the country have no wastewater facilities, something the Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly, acknowledged this in his speech yesterday. He stated that in cases in which the water coming in was unfit for human consumption, people would not have to pay for it. We know that people with septic tanks or their own wells will not have to pay. Yet, for some reason, the people of Arklow and 40 other towns have been told that even though they do not have wastewater facilities, they will be charged for them. I call on the Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly, to come before the House and apply the same principle which is being applied to Roscommon and those with wells and septic tanks in a fair and consistent manner to households and businesses in those 42 areas.

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