John Whelan (Labour)

I will address the amendment and the issue of criminality and prosecution. Senator Crown told us last week that if one drew a line from the German Embassy to the American Embassy, the line would run through his house. I do not live in the embassy belt but in Cremorgan, Timahoe. I am the proud owner of a septic tank and have been for 30 years. The reason half the country is covered in septic tanks is the failure of promises made over decades by Fianna Fáil Governments to put small schemes in place to address this issue. Nonetheless, where I come from every family has a septic tank, and I am more concerned with what happens in the countryside and in places such as Rathdowney and Timahoe than with what happens at climate change conferences in Rio de Janeiro and Kyoto.

It is a criminal act, and is morally wrong, to pollute a neighbour's water.