Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)

The Senator is very kind.

Amendment No. 25 addresses the ten day period subsequent to an offence being committed. While I appreciate what the Minister is trying to achieve, leeway should be given. For example, the French Government and local authorities in France are trying to comply with Directive 75/442/EEC, but the timeframe for individuals to comply with the regulations was changed to four years. The timeframe outlined in the Bill is too tight. Section 4(12) reads: "A person who fails to comply with a request under subsection (11) within 10 days, commits an offence." Is failing to comply with a request to carry out extensive works included in this provision, or does it only apply to a failure to comply with a request to produce a certificate of registration? Will the Minister consider the method used in France, by which people are allowed four years to carry out works recommended by the French equivalent of the Environmental Protection Agency? Although France introduced its law in 2007, the works in question will only be assessed in 2012. France gave people a reasonable timeframe in which to carry out works and local authorities were given discretion to provide funding of various amounts.

The second amendment in the group is No. 31 which relates to a person who has committed an offence being criminalised under the legislation. We have a difficulty in this regard and do not agree with section 4, as constituted, since it introduces criminal sanctions for what the Minister deems minor offences. As both he and the explanatory memorandum state, few septic tanks will not meet the standard. If so, only a small number of people will be involved. For the purpose of clarity, how many does the Department estimate there are? It must have done some homework. How many of the estimated 475,000 septic tanks does the Department believe are meeting the required European standard?