Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)

That is why Fianna Fáil are making the point that there should be a 100% grant. Householders received planning permission and installed septic tanks in accordance with the laws and regulations at the time, and now we are changing the laws and regulations.

I do not disagree with the need to upgrade septic tanks because we are polluting our own water supply. The Senator made that point very well. We need to have a good water supply. We all know of the cases in Galway and elsewhere in the country where there are boil water notices. The Fianna Fáil position is that if someone has to take out a waste water treatment unit in their own back garden, they should get a 100% grant for that. That person complied with the law of the land at the time and did nothing wrong. Now we are going to tell people in rural Ireland that they must spend €1,700, €5,000 or €10,000 to put in a new treatment unit because the existing one is not compliant. We all know of planning authorities who are refusing planning permission because the ground will not take even the best waste water treatment plant available.