Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

No further offences are to be brought in by regulation and that can only be done in the context of primary legislation. However, the Act of 2007 introduced by Senator Ó Domhnaill's party already includes the power to carry out environmental work and seek reimbursement for that work from the owner. As this power already is included in the legislation, the Senator is asking me to eliminate something that was brought in by his own party. It is in the principal Act and the Senator should read it.

As was discussed earlier, the additional information that might be sought relates to technical details of improvements to the system and I already have covered this matter. As for the notification timescale spotted by Senator Keane for holiday homes, this issue was raised last night and I am prepared to take this on board. There are practical reasons that must be applied in respect of giving people a chance to be notified.

On the question of registration in general, the reason one is obliged to bring in registration for people in general, including those in County Cavan, is that under the law one cannot have voluntary registration. Cavan County Council brought in its regulations in 2004 and fair play to it. It was dealing with an extremely difficult situation and because those regulations were in situ, Cavan was exempt from the European Court of Justice judgment. However, the latest information I have from County Cavan is that of approximately 11,000 septic tanks, 3,500 have complied.