Written answers

Tuesday, 28 April 2015

Department of Environment, Community and Local Government

Septic Tank Inspections

Photo of Michael ColreavyMichael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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425. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the number of septic tanks that have been inspected in County Westmeath, since the introduction of legislation requiring registration on 1 February 2013. [16637/15]

Photo of Michael ColreavyMichael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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426. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the number of septic tanks that have been registered in County Westmeath. [16638/15]

Photo of Michael ColreavyMichael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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427. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the total income to the State, so far, from septic tank registrations. [16639/15]

Photo of Michael ColreavyMichael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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428. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the number of septic tanks inspected that have received grant aid to address the issues that came to light from inspections [16640/15]

Photo of Michael ColreavyMichael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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429. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the total amount provided in grant aid for septic tanks; and if he will provide a breakdown, on a county basis. [16641/15]

Photo of Michael ColreavyMichael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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430. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government that due to the fact that the National Inspection Plan provided for 1,000 inspections of septic tanks by July 2014, the sanctions against local authorities who fail to meet this target. [16642/15]

Photo of Michael ColreavyMichael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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431. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the facility in place for any owner of a septic tank, who suspects a problem, to obtain a local authority inspection; if the local authority are failing to meet the target of the National Inspection Plan. [16643/15]

Photo of Alan KellyAlan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 425 to 431, inclusive, together.

As of 27 April 2015, 11,195 domestic wastewater treatment systems in county Westmeath have been registered. This represents 92% of the estimated total number of domestic wastewater systems in the county based on Census 2011 data. The registration fees payable by owners of the domestic waste water treatment systems were collected by the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) on behalf of the local authority in which the systems are located. The fees are intended to meet the costs incurred by the local authorities in maintaining their individual registers and in carrying out the risk-based inspections. Distribution of fees to individual local authorities is a matter for the LGMA.

The Water Services (Amendment) Act 2012 assigns responsibility to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make a National Inspection Plan for domestic wastewater treatment systems. The National Inspection Plan 2013: Domestic Waste Water Treatment Systemswas adopted and published by the EPA in February 2013. Neither I nor my Department have any direct role in monitoring the implementation of the EPA’s Plan. However, the EPA has conducted a review on the implementation of the Plan for the period from 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014. The report contains a breakdown, by county, of inspections that have taken place and includes details relating to non-compliant treatment systems and advisory notices. It is available on the Agency’s website at the following link:

The EPA’s review indicates that 99% of inspections targeted in the Plan’s first year were completed by the local authorities, with only two authorities not completing the number of inspections allocated to them (though my Department has been advised that the outstanding inspections have since been completed). Part 4A of the Water Services Act 2007 (as amended), a copy of which is available in the Oireachtas library, provides appropriate enforcement powers to the EPA , which is the supervisory body for the purposes of implementation of the National Inspection Plan.

Selection of treatment systems for inspection is carried out by the local authorities using the EPA’s IT system which utilises WebGIS information. The selection system is based on risk criteria such as hydrological and geological conditions, density of one-off housing, proximity to drinking water sources etc. Householders cannot request inspections of their own treatment systems.

Section 70 of the Water Services Act 2007 places a duty of care on the owner of a premises to ensure that their waste water treatment systems are kept so as not to cause, or be likely to cause, a risk to human health or the environment, including waters, the atmosphere, land, soil, plants or animals, or create a nuisance through odours. The duty of care provisions have been augmented by the Water Services (Amendment) Act 2012 and associated regulations. Any person whose treatment system fails an inspection or, in the absence of an inspection, considers that their treatment system constitutes, or may constitute, a risk to human health or the environment is responsible for having any necessary remediation works carried out without delay.

The Domestic Waste Water Treatment Systems (Financial Assistance) Regulations 2013, a copy of which is available in the Oireachtas library, brought into operation a grants scheme to assist with the cost of remediation of septic tanks and domestic waste water treatment systems which are deemed, following inspection under the EPA’s National Inspection Plan and the subsequent issue of an Advisory Notice by the local authority, to require repair or upgrading. The qualification criteria are set out in the legislation and full details of the scheme, including eligibility criteria, are set out in the explanatory leaflet and application form published on my Department’s website at:

Responsibility for the administration of my Department’s Rural Water Programme, under which funding is provided to recoup local authorities the grants paid by them in respect of the remediation of domestic waste water treatment systems, is devolved to the local authorities. Details of the grants recouped by my Department to the local authorities up to 24 April 2015 are set out in the table. The table does not include details of any grant applications currently being processed by the local authorities or amounts already paid but where recoupment applications have not yet been submitted to my Department.

Householders who do not meet the eligibility criteria included in the Domestic Waste Water Treatment Systems (Financial Assistance) Regulations 2013 but wish to remediate or upgrade their on-site treatment systems may qualify for relief under the Home Renovation Incentive (HRI) Scheme introduced under Section 5 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2013. The HRI scheme covers main residence repairs, renovations and improvements, including the repair or replacement of septic tanks. The scheme is administered by the Revenue Commissioners and full details are published on Revenue’s website at: .

County Grant Amount

Recouped  - €

Number of grants Recouped
Clare 18,977 6
Cork 3,151 2
Galway 15,300 4
Kerry 6,859 3
Kildare 4,000 1
Leitrim 2,500 1
Limerick 14,500 4
Longford 4,000 1
Louth 4,000 1
Mayo 7,819 2
Meath 36,563 11
Monaghan 8,000 2
Roscommon 15,381 5
Sligo 23,161 6
Tipperary 9,741 4
Westmeath 2,896 1
Wexford 1,637 2
Totals 178,485 56

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