Septic tank charges

DESPITE the announcement of a significantly reduced registration fee for septic tanks for a three-month period and strong indications that financial assistance would be available for those who cannot afford remedial works, there is still huge public disquiet over the 2011 Water Services Amendment Bill.

It’s an issue of considerable interest in Clare, where more than 30,000 homes, both old and new builds, in the countryside, villages and outskirts of towns, have septic tanks and domestic wastewater treatment systems and are unlikely to ever be linked into main sewerage systems.
There have been howls of opposition to the septic tank charges from people all over the county and one Clare person even went so far as to write to the President to try to stop the bill being signed into law. Immediately after the Oireachtas passed the new bill on Wednesday of last week, North Clare-based civil engineer Michael Duffy asked President Michael D Higgins to refer it to the Supreme Court. The bill is “flawed” and “unconstitutional” on three separate grounds, he claimed.
Áras an Uachtaráin confirmed President Higgins read Mr Duffy’s request but nevertheless signed the bill.
Not content to leave matters rest there, Mr Duffy has now lodged a formal complaint to the EU Commission, claiming the new legislation governing septic tanks doesn’t address the core issue of protecting surface water or groundwater.
The Department of Environment has noted, however, the legislation was drafted in conjunction with the Attorney General’s office and was approved by the European Court of Justice on February 3.
There has been quite an amount of flack flying on the issue at national level, with the extensive media coverage indicating just how many householders are affected. Coupled with the outcry over household charges, it is providing quite a headache for the coalition.
Environment Minister Phil Hogan and Taoiseach Enda Kenny have both rubbished Opposition party claims that householders could have to fork out between €17,000 and €20,000 in order to get septic tanks compliant with EU regulations.
Mr Hogan has said the reality is that upgrading and maintenance of septic tanks would cost householders around €100 every two years. While indicating the likelihood of monetary assistance being available for remedial works, if required, Minister Hogan hasn’t disclosed how much funding he has in mind or the qualifying criteria. He said no details could be given until the inspection of tanks got underway in 2013.
The minister has offered some comfort, in that he has stated there will be no charge for inspections, which will focus on areas with higher risk to the environment and public health. He says the risk-based approach is in accordance with international best practice, helping to protect the environment and ground water supplies that are of great importance to agricultural and rural communities.
One of the points of concern among householders relates to the standards that will be applied to inspections. The minister claims they won’t be too stringent but the public will be the judge of that when they are published inside the next week or so.
What is clear about the new regulations at the moment is that for three months from the beginning of April, homeowners will be asked to pay €5 instead or €50, which will be the fee thereafter.
The Opposition has accused the Government of failing to address the real concerns of septic tanks owners and see the reduced charges as merely a smokescreen.
Fianna Fáil’s environment spokesman, Niall Collins, has described the registration fee as “a drop in the ocean” compared to the potential cost of replacing or upgrading tanks that fail inspection.
In response to Opposition goading in the Dáil on Tuesday, the Taoiseach said, “I am quite sure you are not going to have people spluttering into their pints and saying, ‘Oh God, I should not have bought this, I should have registered the septic tank instead’. For less than the price of a pint in many establishments, a person can register the fact that he or she is the owner of a septic tank.”
It remains to be seen if Mr Kenny’s Dáil comments will come back to haunt him. No doubt some householders are living in dread that the cost of maintaining their septic tanks could in time match that of “drinking a pub dry”.
It’s all far from clear-cut and politicians, both from Opposition and Government benches, who serve rural communities, are coming under increasing pressure to seek to put matters on hold.  It is asking an awful lot to expect people living in largely rural areas, who have installed wastewater system at enormous expense, to cough up more money, while urban dwellers can flush their toilets without spending a penny.

Carrigaholt’s community garda

WHEN shops, services, public transport or even voluntary organisations are lost to small communities, there is no coming back. That is usually the case but in Clare’s most westerly location, there has been a remarkable u-turn.
There was huge disappointment last November when Carrigaholt Garda Station closed, coinciding with the retirement of Garda Charlie Killeen. Of the 31 garda stations across the country earmarked for closure as a result of budget cuts, Carrigaholt was the only one in Clare to suffer this fate.
While the station will remain closed, an intervention by the Deputy Garda Commissioner means a community alert garda will be assigned to the village. The new garda, who will take up duty in a matter of weeks, will also liase with the community in general in the area.
This is an important boost to Carrigaholt, which along with other communities on the Loop Head peninsula, has been given a new lease of life with the influx of thousands of tourists to visit the picture-postcard lighthouse.
The reintroduction of a garda to the area is due in no small measure to representations by Kilrush Area Garda Superintendent Gerry Wall and the Kilkee Joint Policing Committee, along with support from councillors and other community figures, to the Deputy Commissioner.
The return of a garda to Carrigaholt is recognition of the fact that there’s a renewed sense of community on Loop Head, a community that needs and deserves proper services.