Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail)

I thank Senator Landy for that but he should reserve his judgment until after my contribution.

As Senator Ó Domhnaill stated, Cavan was exempted from the European Court of Justice ruling. The court cited the example of Cavan County Council which introduced by-laws in 2004 on water pollution to implement a complete system of management of septic tanks and individual wastewater treatment systems, both old and new. The by-laws include a requirement that every wastewater treatment system comply with the EPA manual on treatment systems for single houses and that inspections be carried out at least every seven years. The Commission, in taking the case against Ireland, had conceded that these by-laws in Cavan had constituted an adequate legal mechanism for complying with the directive and, therefore, excluded Cavan as part of the subject matter of the legal action.

The Minister will be aware of these by-laws. I will not go through them in detail, line by line, unless he wishes me to do so.