Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State and thank her for responding to this Adjournment matter. My objective is to ascertain the total amount of taxpayers' money invested in the necessary and most welcome upgrading of public waste water treatment plants in recent years. This feeds into the current debate on private waste water treatment systems, the owners of which the Government seems determined to oblige to replace them.

Any Revenue worker will say it is possible to impose a tax or levy on people so long as it is deemed to be fair and equitable. The issue in this case, as I am sure the Minister of State's figures will show, is that billions of euro were spent in upgrading waste water treatment plants in Dublin and in towns and villages throughout the State at no cost to many of the individuals who benefited from the upgrades. Levies were imposed on developments when the developers applied for planning permission and that money met some of the cost of upgrading water treatments plants. However, for householders in Merrion Square and elsewhere in Dublin, any future upgrading required at Poolbeg, for instance, will not involve any charge. At the same time, taxpayers in County Kerry who receive no benefit from the service are paying for the upgrade of the facility at Poolbeg through their taxes.

If the Government does not put in place a grants system for the upgrading of waste water treatment facilities for private householders, there will be a significant inequity within the system. Billions of euro have been invested in upgrading the public system at no cost to those who use it because it is the right thing to do. Any facility that does not meet the required environmental standards must be upgraded, about which there is no argument. However, considerably more is being asked of people with private waste water treatment facilities which were installed in accordance with the regulations at the time and at the owner's cost. The Government has now changed the rules and is insisting on these facilities being upgraded to meet new standards. I agree that where water quality is not as it should be, there is an obligation to upgrade water treatment systems to meet modern standards. However, the owners of these facilities should be given the same treatment as people living in Dublin.

The Government is meeting fierce resistance on this issue because people can see how inequitable it is. If a person in County Kerry has a system that is not working, it is only right that he or she should be required to upgrade it. However, while taxpayers fund the bill for the upgrading of public systems, the individual is expected to bear the cost in rural areas. That is where the Revenue Commissioners tell the Cabinet that unless a charge or levy is equitable and fair, it will not have the support of the people. Rural householders are entitled to grant assistance to help them in meeting the required standards. I look forward to the Minister of State's response.