Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

I must point out also that £115 is the discharge licence fee requested in Northern Ireland. Senator Cullinane did not mention that in his contribution. There are regular inspections in Northern Ireland and groundwater issues are treated seriously. We have to do the same in the interest of households, public health, inward investment and job creation. We cannot continue treating water in a casual and haphazard way. It is a finite resource and must be respected, and people will do that in the future.

The Cavan model was mentioned earlier. De-sludging is a solution, but €200 is charged and the householder pays, not the public authority. The system is privately operated and people pay the operators to do the job. This does not fit in with Senator Ó Domhnaill's thinking that we should rely only on public bodies to deal with these matters. Private contractors deal with them in Northern Ireland and in Cavan. We cannot have it every way. We are trying to put a reasonable system in place to comply with the European Court of Justice judgment and deal with groundwater issues. The more information we have and the more checks and balances we establish, the better equipped we are to ensure we continue to protect our groundwater to the highest possible standard.