Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)

I thank Senator Keaveney for raising this issue. Forming a group sewerage scheme to construct a communal sewage collection system can provide some communities with an opportunity to connect their homes to a local authority sewerage scheme at an affordable cost. While grants are available for group sewerage schemes, the number of such schemes is small by comparison to group water schemes. The current rate of grant for a household under the group sewerage scheme programme is 75% of capital cost, or €2,031 per house, whichever is the lesser.

The corresponding grant for group water schemes, as the Senator said, is substantially higher. However, the level of grant aid is not necessarily the key issue where group sewerage schemes are concerned. Interest in forming new group sewerage schemes comes mainly from clusters of houses currently depending on septic tanks and situated close to towns or villages with public sewerage services. In some cases, septic tank owners, particularly in sensitive areas or locations with poor ground conditions, are experiencing difficulties with the disposal of septic tank effluent. Where the houses are close to a public sewer it may be possible for them to connect to the sewer at a reasonable cost, provided there is capacity for the additional effluent load. Waste water collection needs of small villages without any sewerage facilities are mainly looked after by local authorities under the small public schemes measure of my Department's rural water programme. This year I have allocated €23.2 million for this measure and local authorities have full discretion about where they decide to invest the money.

Issues associated with the location, siting, ownership and management of communal waste water treatment systems militate against community ownership of sewage treatment works. Operational failure could result in serious public health or environmental consequences and there is the ongoing issue of disposing of treated effluent and the sludge from the treatment process. Senator Keaveney is aware that my Department has funded a pilot programme — she referred to it earlier — to test a range of new, small-scale waste water collection and treatment systems under Irish conditions.

The objective is to evaluate new approaches to meeting the waste water collection and treatment needs of rural communities. As part of this pilot programme the potential role for group sewerage schemes in extending collection systems to households outside the catchment of new or existing public sewerage networks is also being assessed. The construction phase of the pilot programme is now finished and operational, and monitoring is ongoing. A report is being compiled on the technologies and costs associated with both the treatment and collection elements. This will inform policy development as to the potential role for group sewerage schemes in the provision of collection systems and the appropriate level of grant aid that should be made available to assist such groups. I have asked the national rural water monitoring committee to have the report on the pilot programme forwarded to me as soon as possible. I will review the grants for group sewerage schemes in light of the report and the recommendations it contains.