Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)

-----it relates to the powers of inspectors. Regarding the private inspectors to be appointed by the Environmental Protection Agency having paid the fee and obtained the insurance standard, we do not know the level of qualification they must have, the number of inspectors to be appointed or who will pay for them. The Bill does not outline who is paying for them or how much each inspection will cost. What is outlined, however, are the powers of the inspector and those powers include: entering and inspecting any premises served by a wastewater treatment system; the examination of any wastewater treatment system; the monitoring of any domestic wastewater stored in or discharged from a wastewater treatment system; and the taking of samples. These private inspectors also have the power to take photographs of any element of the wastewater treatment system and request that any part of the premises be left undisturbed during the course of an inspection.

The inspectors also have the power, under another section but it is relevant to this section, to carry out excavations. Does that mean they can come onto a site with a bulldozer or a JCB and carry out excavations on somebody's private land or lawn? They have the power to carry out surveys and examinations of subsoil and to obtain information and inspect records pertaining to the maintenance, servicing and operation of wastewater treatment systems but the Bill does not outline what are those maintenance, servicing and operation standards.

The Bill states also that an inspector cannot enter a premises without the prior consent of the occupier but what is even more alarming is that if, for example, somebody in the west is notified that an inspector will call to inspect their wastewater treatment system it will be an offence under the legislation for that person to: prevent the inspector entering their premises; obstruct or impede the inspector in carrying out their duties; or provide false or misleading information regarding a wastewater treatment system to an inspector, the Environmental Protection Agency or the water services authority. The Minister can imagine an elderly person living in a rural part of Ireland who has a septic tank and a so-called inspector representing the Environmental Protection Agency knocks on the door. That inspector may have a card but one must imagine all the crime being committed by people calling to people's homes in rural Ireland. The private inspector calls to carry out an inspection of the wastewater treatment system attached to the dwelling house. If that elderly person obstructs or tells the inspector he or she does not want the inspector to carry out those inspections, having received the written notification prior to the call from the water service authority, he or she will face sanctions. Under the provisions of the Bill it is an offence to impede, obstruct or not to allow the private inspector to carry out his duties. In that case, that person can be taken to court by the water service authority and face class A fines of up to €5,000. What will happen is that people will be criminalised because they are afraid to allow the private inspectors into their houses. Without being alarmist on this issue, the Minister needs to go back to the drawing board in respect of the inspectors and the manner in which they carry out their functions and the sweeping powers being given to these private inspectors.

Is it that the Minister does not have faith in local authority staff who are employed under the water section of local authorities, or the Environmental Protection Agency staff that they cannot carry out those functions? At least those staff are responsible to local authorities, local authority members and to the Houses of the Oireachtas, by extension, and they are also public servants. We are going down the wrong road if we are to have an army of private inspectors, up and down the country, carrying out these inspections. It is a wrong way to go. I will deal with the advisory notice and so on when debating different parts of the Bill.

We oppose this section and are tabling amendments to following sections. I appeal to the Minister to have faith in the public sector staff employed in local authorities, in the Environmental Protection Agency and in his own Department. His argument may be that he does not have the numbers - I accept that argument - but if not he needs to go back the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, and seek a derogation under the moratorium to employ additional people who would be responsible to local authorities, councillors around the country and the Environmental Protection Agency. I attended a public meeting earlier in the week where a councillor from the Minister's party and a councillor from the Labour Party were opposed to the army of inspectors being private inspectors also. It is worth pointing out that there is massive disquiet.

At one of the public meetings I attended in Donegal a pensioner in his 80s, who lives with his wife, was present. They live in a remote area where the nearest house is three quarters of a mile away. Their big fear is an inspector calling, even though they would have received written notification. Some people in rural parts may find it difficult to read the notifications they receive. The Minister should go back to the drawing board on this issue.