Harkin hosts meeting opposing septic tank inspection charges

NORTH West MEP Marian Harkin is to host a meeting in Ennis to encourage opposition to the introduction of septic tanks inspection charges.
The meeting is set to take place on August 12 at 7pm in the Templegate Hotel in Ennis.
Speaking on the issue, Ms Harkin said, “Those who use septic tanks for sewerage treatment have provided them at their own expense and service them at their own expense. Urban dwellers on the other hand have had billions of euros provided to install and maintain sewerage services completely free of charge to them. The reason for introducing this inspection regime is attributed to a European Court decision but it is interesting that no such regime is imposed in the six counties of Northern Ireland.
“The inspections are to be carried out by a corps of engineers to be trained by the EPA and the plan will be for septic tanks owners to fund them and any subsequent remedial works.”
She claimed that local authorities are not being forced to clean up their act.
“The basic unfairness involved in this government plan is emphasised by the fact that it is accepted by the EPA and reflected in all of the River Basin Plans that by far the greatest polluters in the State are the local authorities. However, the inadequacy of plans to remedy this situation can be seen in current funding of treatment works and the certainty that there will be an even greater funding deficit in the coming years.”
Ms Harkin said that those living in rural areas shouldn’t be singled out to pay for failures of the State.
“Rural dwellers must not be selectively penalised for the failure of successive governments to adequately fund waste treatment and the voice of rural dwellers must be heard strongly in the coming weeks before legislation is proposed in the autumn.
“I would urge all rural dwellers to make strong and immediate representations to local and national political representatives to urge them not to permit this further cost imposition which is not borne by those who live in urban areas,” Ms Harkin concluded.  She has also organised meetings in Galway and Roscommon.
Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) national president, Gabriel Gilmartin has rejected the idea of either a tax on septic tanks or a charge for inspecting them. Mr Gilmartin has also welcomed the comments of Marian Harkin.
“People in rural Ireland are weighed under with taxes and charges but receive very little of the services and supports that apply in urban areas. Urban sewage is provided at no cost to urban dwellers as it is provided with the aid of national and EU funds. This is a further slap in the face of rural Ireland,” he commented.
“I am also concerned that this is just the latest in a litany of new inspections and bureaucratic interference, and has more to do with creating jobs for inspectors than saving the planet. The problem is that we need jobs that are based on real economic activity rather than artificial jobs based on bureaucracy that add nothing to the nation’s economic output. Instead, all we are doing is taxing the rural economy and rural society out of existence,” he concluded.