Kevin O'Keeffe (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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197. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his plans to open the grant scheme for all potential applicants whose domestic septic tanks and wastewater treatment units are not compliant with section 70 of the Water Services Act 2007. [14795/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Section 70 of the Water Services Act 2007 places a duty of care on the owner of a premises to ensure that his or her 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 water, 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 who considers that his or her 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, to require repair or upgrading. The grant scheme ensures that the limited financial resources available are targeted towards householders, particularly those on lower incomes, who incur expenditure directly as a result of the implementation of the Water Services (Amendment) Act 2012.

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:

www.housing.gov.ie/water/water-quality/domestic-waste-water-systemsseptic-tanks/domestic-waste-water-treatment-0.

It is not proposed to make any changes to the grant scheme at this time.

Householders who do not meet the eligibility criteria for the grant under the aforementioned Regulations and who wish to remediate or upgrade their on-site treatment systems may qualify for relief under the Home Renovation Incentive (HRI) Scheme introduced pursuant to 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 the Revenue Commissioner’s website at www.revenue.ie.