Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Especially in light of the events of the past 24 hours, I have to note the total demonisation of rural dwellers. I say “rural dwellers” because predominantly people with a septic tank are rural dwellers. We are told the majority of septic tanks, or perhaps one in three, are not functioning properly. The main polluter in any county is the local authority of that county. This is because of inaction, not just of the current Government but also of past Governments. They have failed to provide the local authorities with enough funding to upgrade their existing sewerage network or, as in many cases, deal with the many villages and communities that do not have any form of wastewater treatment whatsoever.

I do not want to name towns and villages with no sewerage system but have them at the top of my tongue. The local authority has pipes that come directly out of the houses, pubs and shops and go down the street and into the nearest river. It is the State that has done this; it is the local authority that has done it. Deputy Noonan is a Minister of State and I want him to say what he thinks about that. If the culprits were individuals, families, pubs, shops or businesses, they would be ridiculed and taken the next Friday to the local court, where a judge would fine them.

They would be to the front of the local newspaper and bellragged the length and breadth of the country, yet it would be regarded as all right for the State to do what they did. That is not fair or right; that does not suggest an equal playing field. This minute, people are being grilled in the Oireachtas over what RTÉ did. I want the Minister of State to consider what the Government is doing. Why is it blaming individuals again? If they have to upgrade their sewerage system, they might not be able to afford it. The State surely can; it does not know what to do with money.

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