Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 October 2012
54. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he is satisfied that the European Commission accepts the new Waste Water Services as satisfying their legal concerns; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46175/12]
View answer79. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the numbers of persons who have registered for the waste water services register; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46170/12]
View answer82. Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the financial supports that have been put in place to assist households upgrading their septic tanks to meet the new standards. [46069/12]
View answer99. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to publicise the waste water services registration programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46172/12]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 54, 79, 82 and 99 together.
In October 2009 the European Court of Justice ruled that Ireland had failed to adopt the necessary legislation to comply with Articles 4 and 8 of the EU waste directive regarding domestic wastewater disposed of in the countryside through septic tanks and other individual waste water treatment systems. The ruling highlighted deficiencies in Irish legislation regarding waste water disposed of through septic tanks and similar systems. The enactment of the Water Services (Amendment) Act 2012, and the subsequent regulations I signed to guarantee effective implementation of that legislation, were therefore necessary to ensure that Ireland achieves compliance with both the ruling and its responsibilities under the waste directive.
My Department has been in ongoing liaison with the European Commission since the court ruling, particularly with regard to the drafting of the legislation. The legislative provisions regarding registration of domestic wastewater treatment systems and the introduction of a risk-based inspection system are intended to ensure compliance with the court ruling. The inspection system provided for in the legislation and currently being finalised by the Environmental Protection Agency is also in accordance with the recommendations of the European Parliament and Council of 4 April 2001 regarding the minimum criteria for environmental inspections in the member states. The European Court of Justice considered an application from the European Commission for the imposition of fines against Ireland at a hearing on 4 October last and the court's decision in this regard is now awaited. At the hearing the Commission indicated that its primary complaint in the case was the time taken to comply with the ruling rather than the legislative approach that had been adopted by Ireland.
There is no current scheme of financial support for the upgrading of septic tanks. I have stated on a number of occasions that I am prepared to consider all possible options to provide financial support to householders whose wastewater treatment systems are deemed, following inspection under the new legislation, to require substantial remediation or upgrading. The remedial action required on foot of septic tank inspections under the new system will, in many cases, only mean that householders are obliged to de-sludge their tanks more frequently. In other cases, householders may be required to carry out repairs to improve the performance of malfunctioning septic tanks. The provision of any financial support will have regard to the overall budgetary situation and to the financial position of the individual households concerned. However, it would be inappropriate for me to give any guarantees until the need for financial support is determined. The extent of problems with domestic waste water treatment systems and the remediation costs arising will not be clear until such time as inspections are being carried out.
As of 22 October, more than 250,000 owners of domestic wastewater treatment systems have registered online, by post or in person at their local authority offices. I understand that the central bureau operated by the Local Government Management Agency is currently working through the postal and over-the-counter registrations that are to be processed. The launch of the registration programme in June was accompanied by a public awareness campaign. Information on how to register and on the fees payable was broadcast by local radio stations nationwide and advertisements were also placed in local and regional newspapers. Information regarding how to register was also published on a number of websites, including those of the Department, the EPA and local authorities. During the period from late August to mid-September, local authorities distributed information leaflets to homes in areas without sewerage systems, advising householders of the legal requirement to register by 1 February 2013, along with details of how to register and the reduced registration fee available until 28 September 2012. It is intended that a further publicity campaign will take place in order to inform householders of their legal responsibility to register by 1 February 2013.
I thank the Minister for his thorough reply. In the context of compliance, is the Minister in a position to state whether the charge - be it €5 or €50 - that has been imposed on people will cover the cost of inspections? Last year, he indicated that the process of ensuring compliance would be lenient in nature. Will the charges to which I refer offset the cost of inspections?
I anticipate that the charge that has been levied will pay for all administration and inspection costs.
In the event of a somewhat lenient approach being taken in respect of compliance - the process in this regard must be a great deal more thorough - the cost of administration and inspections will obviously increase manifold. That being the case and on foot of the provisions in the legislation, will the Minister have discretion to impose a much heftier charge?
No. The inspections will be carried out and we have agreed with the European Union that the approach in this regard will be risk-based.
I refer to the financial supports for upgrading tanks. The Minister has informed the House that 250,000 people have registered which means 250,000 have not registered-----
Yet.
According to the latest figures there are almost half a million septic tanks in the State. The figure of 400,000 was being used previously. I refer to issues which are worrying people. The current regulations are not hugely onerous. However, will the situation evolve and the regulations become more onerous? For instance, in a year's time will the EPA decide these regulations are light-touch and heavier-touch regulations are required which will cost more to implement?
I keep my ears open in rural areas with regard to this issue. The second concern expressed to me by people is that of financial support for households that cannot afford to upgrade. They are afraid to register because they are afraid that once they are in the system they will draw attention to themselves which means that an inspection of the septic tank will be carried out. The septic tanks belonging to low-income households in particular may be old and may not have been upgraded for years. They may not be in a position to upgrade such tanks so they decide they will not register with the local authority. Those two concerns need to be addressed, namely, whether regulations will evolve and become stricter and the issue of financial support.
We estimate there are 475,000 septic tanks in the country. A total of 250,000 have been registered and some post remains to be opened since 30 September. The closing date for registration at a cost of €50 is 1 February 2013. Those who advised others not to pay the €5 charge will have to explain to them why it will now cost them a further €45.
Give Mattie a ring.
I am delighted to hear Deputy Stanley saying the regulations are not onerous because that is exactly what I have been saying for seven or eight months-----
The inspections.
We have negotiated successfully with the European Commission, something my predecessor, Deputy Ó Cuív, was unable to do. The issue of financial support does not come into play yet because we do not know the level of problems that may arise as a result of the inspections. However, I refer to the situation in Cavan which is our only example arising from the judgment of the European Court of Justice. It was excluded from the judgment because it had been doing its business since 2004. The percentage of issues in Cavan was only 11% to 15% of those dwellings.
That was 20 years' ago.
I know the Leas-Cheann Comhairle will be very interested to know there will not be an annual inspection charge of €300, as proposed by our predecessors-----
That was never proposed. Withdraw that remark. The Government never took any decision on any charge. It was not proposed. The Minister should correct the record of the House. You are always telling lies.
It was proposed and I can give the Deputy the document. There will not be an annual inspection.
This is Question Time.
I can see the Deputy is upset.
Please, Deputy.
You are a liar.
I do not blame the Deputy for being upset. Withdraw that remark.
You must withdraw that comment, Deputy Ó Cuív.
You are telling untruths. I withdraw the previous remark. It is a total untruth. This Government specialises in telling untruths all the time.
There was a proposal for a charge of €300 for an annual inspection of every septic tank. The 2009 EPA regulations were supposed to be implemented for every inspection. I am delighted to inform the Deputy and every other Deputy, as I have informed the committee, that this will not be the case.
I wanted to ask a question about the rates. Will they evolve and become stricter?
I will try to come back to the Deputy but I call Deputy Wallace.
I assume the main priority for the European Commission is that we clean up the water table. I agree that we should do that. A few months ago I asked the Minister how many tanks would be inspected. He reckoned the number would be one in eight. I do not know how the water table can be cleaned up if only one in eight tanks is to be inspected. He says he has negotiated with the Commission but has he negotiated with the Commission as how much money will be required to rectify the tanks? How can they be rectified if they have not been inspected? He will not know how much it will cost to clean up the water table if only one in eight tanks are inspected.
My question is about the regulations. Can the Minister give a guarantee that the regulations will not evolve into a stricter form of regulation if the EPA or the European Commission insists on the enforcement of stricter regulations in a year's time?
The regulations I have outlined will not change. In respect of compliance with the European Court of Justice judgment, which I inherited and which is costing €26,000 a day and €3.7 million as a lump sum fine, these regulations will not change.
In reply to Deputy Wallace, there is personal responsibility. If people are in the business of contaminating their own or their neighbour's water supply, they are already in breach of the Water Services Act 2007.
What if they got planning permission to do that?
We went into a lot of detail about the minutiae of the issue. If Deputy Wallace had attended the committee he would have learned much from the Deputies on his side of the House and on ours as to how to deal with these issues. We have agreed with the European Commission that we would inspect our wastewater treatment systems on a risk-based approach. It is the responsibility of everyone to ensure the systems are satisfactory and are not contaminating their own or their neighbour's water supply. The Act provides for dealing with those who are not compliant.
