Denis Landy (Labour)

As the Minister said, all properties must be subject to inspection; whether they are in a high-risk area or otherwise is irrelevant. We cannot make fish of one and flesh of another. Properties in high-risk areas will be inspected, while those which are not may not be.

Senator Ó Domhnaill seems to be hung up on certain aspects of this provision. To reiterate, the information being sought is not mandatory. In other words, if the person happens to have built the house within the past 20 years and has a copy of the planning permission for the house, the site map will show the position of the septic tank and of the percolation area and this can be submitted with the application for registration. This is the type of information referred to by the Minister, as I understand. The second port of call for a site map would be the local authority which will have a file on all applications as far back as 1963. It is not mandatory to have a site map and there will be no penalty for not having one. Perhaps Senator Ó Domhnaill will accept this as an explanation.