Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister talked about the availability of the scheme and funds. The bottom line is that if somebody's septic tank is contaminating a water source and he or she contacts Irish Water or the local authority with a view to rectifying the matter, as he or she does not have the funds available to him or her to do so, despite the perception that funding is available in the form of a grant from the Government or the local authority, that is not the case. Local authorities and Irish Water are putting their hands to their ears, nobody is rectifying the position and the contamination continues. The cost to the taxpayer will be far greater in the future. The Minister says there is a grants system available, but there is not. One needs to have six numbers in the lotto. The local authority must test the septic tank, but there could be 5,000 septic tanks registered in its area. The householder's must be one of the six that are tested and one of the six that fail in order that he or she can qualify for a grant. That is not at all what it says on the tin. The perception does not meet the reality. It is time the reality met the perception and that an effort was made by the Government to adhere to the wishes of those who wish to rectify the problem and ensure there will be no contamination of water sources.

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