Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Question 215: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if there are grants available to residential property owners to upgrade existing sewerage facilities and septic tanks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22127/10]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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The Programme for Government, agreed in June 2007, included a commitment to introduce a scheme of support for the replacement and upgrade of septic tanks older than 15 years with newer systems. The feasibility for introducing such a scheme will remain under ongoing review by my Department, in light of budgetary constraints.

Under my Department's Rural Water Programme, grants are available to provide groups of households with the opportunity of connecting to public sewerage networks through communal sewage collection systems that are, in turn, connected to local authority sewers. Alternatively, the communal sewage collection system may be connected to sewage treatment facilities provided by the groups themselves. A grant of 75% of the approved cost, subject to a limit of €2,031.58 per domestic connection, whichever is the lesser, is available for eligible works. Details of these grants may be obtained from the local authorities, to whom the administration of the Rural Water Programme has been devolved since 1997.