Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 7 February 2018
308. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if a person (details supplied) is eligible for a grant for remediation works to be carried out on a domestic wastewater treatment system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6231/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Domestic Waste Water Treatment Systems (Financial Assistance) Regulations 2013, a copy of which is available in the Oireachtas library, brought into operation a grant scheme to assist with the cost of remediation of septic tanks and domestic waste water treatment systems which are deemed, following inspection under the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Inspection Plan, to require repair or upgrading.
The Regulations provide that, subject to the applicant meeting all qualification criteria, a local authority may pay a grant to a person who is required, following an inspection, to undertake repairs or upgrades to, or replacement of, a septic tank or other domestic waste water treatment system. Applications for grant aid are administered by the local authorities in whose functional area the particular domestic waste water treatment system requiring remediation is situated. The local authorities then seek recoupment of the amounts paid from my Department. Where a local authority pays a grant under the scheme, my Department will recoup to the local authority 100% of the amount paid.
Full details of the scheme, including eligibility criteria, are set out in the explanatory leaflet and application form published on my Department’s website at the following link:
http://www.housing.gov.ie/water/water-quality/domestic-waste-water-systemsseptic-tanks/domestic-waste-water-treatment-0.
As the person in question did not register his or her domestic waste water treatment system within the prescribed time set out in the Regulations, he or she is not considered eligible for a grant for the cost of remediation of their septic tank unless, in the case of new developments, the treatment system was entered on the relevant water services authority's register of such systems within 90 days of connection of the premises to the domestic waste water treatment system. This is addressed in Article 3A (a) of the Regulations, which are available at the following link:
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2013/si/180/made/en/print.
Householders who do not meet the eligibility criteria for the grant under the aforementioned Regulations and who wish to remediate or upgrade their on-site treatment systems may qualify for relief under the Home Renovation Incentive (HRI) Scheme introduced pursuant to section 5 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2013. The HRI Scheme covers main residence repairs, renovations and improvements, including the repair or replacement of septic tanks. The Scheme is administered by the Revenue Commissioners and full details are published on the Revenue Commissioners' website at www.revenue.ie.
