Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide an update on the Water Services Amendment Act to include the numbers and percentages of domestic waste water systems and septic tanks that have been registered in each county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5067/13]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide an update on the implementation of the Water Services Amendment Act 2012 to include the numbers and overall percentages of septic tanks that have been registered on a county basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5074/13]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the position regarding the implementation of the Water Services Amendment Act 2012; the numbers of septic tanks that have been registered on a county basis; the percentage this represents of overall septic tanks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5075/13]

Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide a breakdown on a county basis of registrations for septic tanks in accordance with the Water Services Amendment Act 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5073/13]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the total number of septic tanks that have been registered to date on a county basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5072/13]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide an update on the implementation of the Water Services Amendment Act 2012 to include the numbers and overall percentages of septic tanks that have been registered on a county basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5405/13]

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government in view of the fact that the deadline for registration of septic tanks is 1 February 2013, the reason local authorities, including Meath County Council, have had no details yet from his Department about the grant scheme and are unable to give information or application forms to members of the public. [5412/13]

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the approximate cost of remedial works on septic tanks; the percentage of tanks that he intends to inspect; the timescale for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5545/13]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 142, 152, 159, 160, 170, 171, 188, 196, 198 and 210 together.

The Water Services (Amendment) Act 2012 requires householders whose properties are served by on-site wastewater treatment systems to register their system with their local authority. The deadline for householders to register was 1 February. At the passing of that deadline, applications in respect of the on-site wastewater treatment systems of 373,954 owners, who have registered online, by post or in person at their local authority offices, had bee n processed and approximately 25,000 additional registration applications were awaiting processing by the bureau operated by the Local Government Management Agency. I propose to circulate with the Official Report a tabular statement setting out details of the number of processed registrations for each County and City Council by 1 February 2013.

The 2012 Act also provides that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will make a National Inspection Plan for domestic wastewater treatment systems. I expect that the National Inspection Plan will be published shortly, and that inspections will commence in the middle of this year. Inspections will be carried out by appropriately qualified local authority staff who will be appointed as inspectors. A training course for inspectors is currently being finalised and it will be rolled out to all local authorities in the coming weeks.

The extent and cost of the remediation works that may be required will depend on the condition of the individual system and the extent of the risk to public health and the environment. Inspections carried out by Cavan County Council, based on bye-laws adopted by that authority in 2004, revealed an initial failure rate of approximately 25% of on-site systems, with remediation costs averaging €2,500. However, the enactment of the bye-laws and the related public information campaigns by Cavan County Council have increased householders’ awareness of the necessity to operate and maintain their systems correctly and the failure rate has, over the intervening years, decreased to approximately 15%. At this stage it is not possible to indicate how many systems will require remediation. However, t he remedial action required on foot of an inspection of a septic tank will, in many cases, only involve householders having to de-sludge their tanks more frequently.

I recently announced my intention to introduce a grant scheme to provide financial assistance to households whose septic tanks and other domestic wastewater treatment systems require remediation or upgrading following inspection. The scheme will apply to treatment systems which have been registered by the due date of 1 February 2013 and which are deemed to require remediation having failed an inspection carried out under the 2012 Act. The grant payable will depend on the cost of the work necessary and the income of the household concerned , and t he scheme will provide a higher level of support to households on lower incomes. Full details of the scheme will be defined in regulations which I will make in advance of inspections commencing this year.

Registrations processed as of 4 February 2013