David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)

We pay taxes to ensure we have what the Minister says we should have, which is good clean groundwater and proper disposal of waste water in order, which, in turn, protects the environment. There is an unfairness in this charge which goes right to the heart of our opposition to it. Many people who are connected to local authority water systems do not have to pay and this charge penalises those who are not connected.

We do not oppose registration, inspection or remedial works. The €50 charge is important and the bigger fear many people have in counties Kilkenny and Waterford is that if remedial works are needed, no provision is made in the legislation to make grants available. The Minister should acknowledge such works could be necessary and it would cost householders. Why should they bear that cost when they pay taxes? There is an inherent unfairness in what the Government parties trying to do. They are using a good European court ruling, which ensures we comply with proper environmental and sustainable planning standards, to extract more money by adopting a registration fee that is solely intended to get more money out of people who may not have it to give. They are cynically using the European court judgment to get money from people.

Sinn Féin is not opposed to the broad thrust of what the Minister is trying to do. Mention was made of what is happening in the North. There is no registration fee and free desludging is provided, to which I referred on Second Stage.