Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

There are other forms of registration, such as the NCT, drivers' licences and passports. They must all be re-registered periodically and a fee is charged for it. In this case there will not be a re-registration fee. It is not contemplated at this point. The reason for the re-registration requirement is advances in technology with regard to the treatment of groundwater. If there are changes in the way households treat groundwater or effluent, there will be a requirement to inform people on a periodic basis that this has happened. This is in line with what happened in Cavan, which is an excellent example. As the information and new technology became available and new practices developed, people in the local authority were able to take advantage of it and the level of inspections reduced to 11%. I gave serious consideration to what we could do to advance the period of five years and I had discussion with people from the legal side of our Department in the context of the European Court of Justice judgment. I am obliged to continue with the five-year period because of this. I am doing so on the basis that they will not be charged for it and on the basis that there will be no administration or inspection charge and no re-registration charge. There will be just one fee.

The owner of a local authority house is the local authority and the onus is on the owner, so the local authority pays the registration charge for that and a tenant does not pay the registration charge in this case.