Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 15 February 2024
65. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will expand the scope of the septic tank grants from local authorities to cover larger geographical areas in order for more rural homeowners to avail of it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7351/24]
View answerWill the Minister of State extend the scope of scheme of sceptic tanks for local authorities? It was announced to great fanfare last September that the grant would be extended. Can the Minister of State expand on this and on the geographical areas where the scheme can be operated and the grant availed of?
Some 165,000 households use septic tanks as their wastewater treatment. The contamination and potential for contamination of groundwater in household wells can be very significant for human health and the environment, particularly for vulnerable groups such as infants, pregnant women and elderly people and people with underlying health conditions, as well as the risk of phosphorous, nitrogen potential sources of pollution. It is a very serious issue across the country given the number of systems in place in individual households.
The policy of providing grant funding for remedial work on septic tanks arises from the need to address damage being done to water quality in sensitive areas, in particular.
There are three grant schemes available to householders relating to domestic wastewater treatment systems, commonly known as septic tank grants. The purpose of these grants is to incentivise householders to carry out works to defective septic tanks. The grants are focused on the areas of greatest environmental priority to protect human health and the environment, and are not general in application.
Householders can avail of the grants if their domestic wastewater treatment system has failed an inspection under the national inspection plan and an advisory notice has been issued or if the septic tank is located in either a prioritised area for action or a high-status objective catchment area, as identified in the river basin management plan.
I can confirm that, following extensive consultation with key stakeholders in the rural water sector, my Department completed a review of the terms and conditions of the three grants. As a result of this review and the recommendations made, in November 2023 the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, announced significant improvements to the grants available. The changes, which came into effect on 1 January 2024, are an increase in the maximum grant amount available to €12,000, up from €5,000, and removal of the requirement to have had the septic tank registered in 2013. The grants continue to be available only in circumstances relating to risks to water quality or human health or both and we have no plans to make further changes. Full details of the grants can be found on the Department's website.
Therein lies the problem. The Department increased the grant from €5,000 to a maximum of €12,000 and they do not have to be registered but getting a grant is the issue. I had a lady last week on to my office. She was in a bad way with her septic tank, rang the county council and was told she was not in the right geographical area. That is ridiculous.
I question the Minister of State's figure of 160,000 tanks. I would say it is double or treble that. I live in the country and work in that area and I know every house in the country has to have a septic tank because there is no sewerage. Even many towns and villages do not have the sewerage connections. I question that figure strongly.
The geographical areas have to be expanded. To great fanfare the increase in the funding was announced last November but if people are not eligible to get it, it sticks in their craws. There is spin by Government in relation to many issues. There are big announcements but you do not even have to go into the fine print to see there are huge swathes of the country where you cannot apply for this funding. They have not been inspected by the council. Will the Minister of State give an answer on how many inspections have taken place in each county in the years since it came in? I believe it is very few.
I can provide the Deputy with a table of inspections per county. I do not have it to hand. These are important grants. There are three available. The national inspection grant is available to householders who failed an inspection carried out by a local authority under the national inspection plan and received an advisory notice. The priority area for action grant is available to a householder where the domestic wastewater system is situated in a prioritised area for action as identified under the river basin plan. We will be expanding that with the new plan. The high-status objective catchment area grant is available to householders where the domestic wastewater treatment system is situated in high-status objective catchment areas, again as identified in the river basin management plan.
The figures I have come from the EPA and so are accurate. It is important that if a householder's system has failed, he or she should avail of these grants.
I do not accept the figures. Because they came from the EPA, they are gospel, but that agency produced a report recently about areas with no pollution and gave the whole county of Tipperary a clean bill of health, when there are 30 plants - I visited one in my village last week with about ten officials from Irish Water - spewing raw sewage. The figures are thwarted, anti-farmers and pro-local authorities. They are not honest, fair or correct. The Minister of State needs to look into that seriously. Neither I nor anybody in this House believes there are only 160,000 septic tanks in the country. That is far off the mark.
The money announced for the grant scheme is welcome but you cannot get it. The lady who rang me was told by the council it was sorry but she was not in the area the grant applies to. There are vast swathes of the country like that. It is lovely to announce the big scheme. It looks and sounds grand and is a good PR spin but if people ring up about a problem with their tank that will cost €10,000 or even €20,000 for some of the new percolation systems that have been put in, they have a tough situation. It you are in a town or city that is connected, you are fine, but it is an onerous task. All householders I know want to keep their septic tanks right, do not want pollution or odours and do their best to maintain them.
I agree wholeheartedly. We will be launching the new water action plan, the third cycle of the river basin management plan. Within that we intend to expand significantly the number of areas for action and high-status objective areas. That will give added support to householders in those catchments. This comes about because of the deteriorating quality of our water and catchments. The action plan will envisage and anticipate that we will significantly ramp up the level of inspections and actions to deal with these. They have a significant impact on human health and the environment.
Could I get the figures that have been inspected?
The expansion of the areas will give the opportunity for more householders to avail of these grants.
