David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)

In a previous debate, the Minister stated that he would re-examine the question of re-registration. Instead of requiring all 400,000 owners to re-register, it may be better to put the obligation on owners to inform the water authority if changes are made to their systems. Contrary to what the Minister stated, no one is chasing shadows around corners. We are not concerned about a charge on the owner of the system. Rather, we are concerned about the administrative cost to the State of asking all 400,000 owners to re-register every five years. Only a small percentage of the 400,000 owners will carry out changes. The initial registration should clearly prescribe which changes will necessitate an individual informing the water authority of them. These works would be entered into the tank's record and would negate the need for all 400,000 to re-register. We hope that, as he said he would, the Minister has considered this issue in a positive way.