Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department currently provides funding for three demand-led domestic waste water treatment system (DWWTS) grant schemes. The purpose of the grants is to provide financial assistance to householders for the remediation, repair, upgrade or replacement of DWWTS (commonly known as septic tanks). These grants are focused on the areas of greatest environmental priority to protect human health and the environment, and are not general in application. I have no plans to expand the grants outside of these priorities.

The owner of a DWWTS is responsible for its maintenance and ensuring that its parts and components are fit for purpose, operational and kept in good order, so as to prevent a risk to human health or the environment.

I can confirm that my Department has recently completed a review of these grant schemes. The review process included extensive consultation with stakeholders in the Rural Water Sector to identify where improvements could and should be made to the terms and conditions of the grants.

I have recently announced changes to the grants, following the review, which include increasing the maximum grant amount available to €12,000 (from €5,000) and removing a requirement for historical registration of the DWWTS with the local authority in order to be eligible for a grant. These improvements will encourage more householders to avail of the grant and consequently help reduce the environmental risk from defective tanks. These changes will come into effect from 1 January 2024.