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Water Services Registrations

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 February 2013

Tuesday, 5 February 2013

Questions (142, 152, 159, 160, 170, 171, 188, 196, 198, 210)

Tom Hayes

Question:

142. Deputy Tom Hayes asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide an update on the Water Services (Amendment) Act to include the numbers and percentages of domestic waste water systems and septic tanks that have been registered in each county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5067/13]

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Patrick O'Donovan

Question:

152. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide an update on the implementation of the Water Services (Amendment) Act 2012 to include the numbers and overall percentages of septic tanks that have been registered on a county basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5074/13]

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Simon Harris

Question:

159. Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the position regarding the implementation of the Water Services (Amendment) Act 2012; the numbers of septic tanks that have been registered on a county basis; the percentage this represents of overall septic tanks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5075/13]

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Joe Carey

Question:

160. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide a breakdown on a county basis of registrations for septic tanks in accordance with the Water Services (Amendment) Act 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5073/13]

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Heather Humphreys

Question:

170. Deputy Heather Humphreys asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the total number of septic tanks that have been registered to date on a county basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5072/13]

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Tony McLoughlin

Question:

171. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide information on the total numbers of septic tanks and other similar type of systems that are currently registered locally and nationally; and the timeframe for when the inspection process will begin. [5071/13]

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Martin Heydon

Question:

188. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide an update on the implementation of the Water Services (Amendment) Act 2012 to include the numbers and overall percentages of septic tanks that have been registered on a county basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5405/13]

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Tony McLoughlin

Question:

196. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide an update in the implementation of the Water Services Amendment Act 2012. [5070/13]

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Peadar Tóibín

Question:

198. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government in view of the fact that the deadline for registration of septic tanks is 1 February 2013, the reason local authorities, including Meath County Council, have had no details yet from his Department about the grant scheme and are unable to give information or application forms to members of the public. [5412/13]

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Mick Wallace

Question:

210. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the approximate cost of remedial works on septic tanks; the percentage of tanks that he intends to inspect; the timescale for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5545/13]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 142, 152, 159, 160, 170, 171, 188, 196, 198 and 210 together.

The Water Services (Amendment) Act 2012 requires householders whose properties are served by on-site wastewater treatment systems to register their system with their local authority. The deadline for householders to register was 1 February. At the passing of that deadline, applications in respect of the on-site wastewater treatment systems of 373,954 owners, who have registered online, by post or in person at their local authority offices, had been processed and approximately 25,000 additional registration applications were awaiting processing by the bureau operated by the Local Government Management Agency. I propose to circulate with the Official Report a tabular statement setting out details of the number of processed registrations for each County and City Council by 1 February 2013.

The 2012 Act also provides that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will make a National Inspection Plan for domestic wastewater treatment systems. I expect that the National Inspection Plan will be published shortly, and that inspections will commence in the middle of this year. Inspections will be carried out by appropriately qualified local authority staff who will be appointed as inspectors. A training course for inspectors is currently being finalised and it will be rolled out to all local authorities in the coming weeks.

The extent and cost of the remediation works that may be required will depend on the condition of the individual system and the extent of the risk to public health and the environment. Inspections carried out by Cavan County Council, based on by-laws adopted by that authority in 2004, revealed an initial failure rate of approximately 25% of on-site systems, with remediation costs averaging €2,500. However, the enactment of the by-laws and the related public information campaigns by Cavan County Council have increased householders’ awareness of the necessity to operate and maintain their systems correctly and the failure rate has, over the intervening years, decreased to approximately 15%. At this stage it is not possible to indicate how many systems will require remediation. However, the remedial action required on foot of an inspection of a septic tank will, in many cases, only involve householders having to de-sludge their tanks more frequently.

I recently announced my intention to introduce a grant scheme to provide financial assistance to households whose septic tanks and other domestic wastewater treatment systems require remediation or upgrading following inspection. The scheme will apply to treatment systems which have been registered by the due date of 1 February 2013 and which are deemed to require remediation having failed an inspection carried out under the 2012 Act. The grant payable will depend on the cost of the work necessary and the income of the household concerned, and the scheme will provide a higher level of support to households on lower incomes. Full details of the scheme will be defined in regulations which I will make in advance of inspections commencing this year.

Registrations processed as of 4 February 2013

WaterServices Authority

Estimated total number of on-site waste water treatment systems

Number of on-site waste water treatment systems registered

Number of on-site waste water treatment systems registered as a percentage of the estimated total number

Carlow Co. Council

7190

5,369

74.0

Cavan Co. Council

14477

12,064

83.0

Clare Co. Council

19769

17,579

88.0

Cork City Council

586

496

84.0

Cork Co. Council

57993

39,309

67.0

Donegal Co. Council

32955

20,284

61.0

Dublin City Council

2718

102

3.0

Dún Laoghaire-

Rathdown Co. Council

1928

989

51.0

Fingal Co. Council

5213

2,821

54.0

Galway City Council

1145

645

56.0

Galway Co. Council

42161

30,895

73.0

Kerry Co. Council

28277

28,153

99.0

Kildare Co. Council

16795

12,165

72.0

Kilkenny Co. Council

15368

11,705

76.0

Laois Co. Council

11309

8,557

75.0

Leitrim Co. Council

7005

6,149

87.0

Limerick City Council

420

205

48.0

Limerick Co. Council

24207

17,949

74.0

Longford Co. Council

7556

5,849

77.0

Louth Co. Council

11633

7,530

64.0

Mayo Co. Council

26659

22,586

84.0

Meath Co. Council

21687

16,159

74.0

Monaghan Co. Council

12065

7,423

61.0

North Tipperary

Co. Council

12342

9,931

80.0

Offaly Co. Council

11170

8,286

74.0

Roscommon County Council

14297

11,973

83.0

Sligo Co. Council

11192

9,196

82.0

South Dublin County Council

2266

1,085

47.0

South Tipperary County Council

14442

10,971

75.0

Waterford City Council

488

343

70.0

Waterford Co. Council

11466

7,655

66.0

Westmeath Co. Council

12165

9,506

78.0

Wexford Co. Council

26267

20,282

77.0

Wicklow Co. Council

12070

9,743

80.0

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