Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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191. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to change the qualifying criteria for the septic tank grant to enable households to self-report a fault to qualify, rather than just households that have been inspected or those in a prioritised area for action in accordance with the River Basin Management Plan 2018-2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24475/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The policy of providing grant funding to households for work on Domestic Waste Water Treatment Systems (DWWTS), including septic tanks, arises from the need to address damage being done to water quality in sensitive areas in particular.

The grants are focused on the areas of greatest environmental priority and are available only in circumstances relating to risks to water quality and/or human health and the environment, and are not general in application.

Householders can avail of the grants if their defective DWWTS has failed an inspection under the National Inspection Plan and an Advisory Notice has been issued, or if the DWWTS is located in either a Prioritised Area for Action or a High Status Objective Catchment Area, as identified in the River Basin Management Plan.

Modifications to the conditions and amount of the grants available came into effect from 1 January 2024 following a review of the scheme and I have no plans to make further changes.