Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne.

Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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Like many of my rural colleagues, I was giddy with excitement at the 2023 Ard-Fheis when the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, announced changes to the septic tank grant scheme-----

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Is it not amazing the things that get us worked up?

Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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Indeed. I have been living ever since with disappointment and a feeling of being unfulfilled, however, given numerous constituents have come to me and pointed out the shortcomings of the scheme. Just 19 grants have been paid out this year by the Department to householders with septic tanks and the Department is coming under increasing pressure to revise the eligibility and application process, which many people, me included, argue is too restrictive and convoluted and does not address one of the biggest challenges in rural Ireland, namely, the inadequacy and shortcomings of our septic tank network, with almost 500,000 such features in Ireland. Disappointingly, the Minister has stated he is unwilling, at least at this time, to look at making further changes to the septic tank scheme, but I am going to use this brief debate to try to impress on him the need to make those changes and to highlight the shortcomings.

Dr. Matt Crowe, the chair of the national water forum, has stated the issue needs close monitoring. He says the 19 applications constitute a very small number given the high number of septic tanks we suspect are not functioning properly. At the moment, to be eligible to apply, a home must have been preselected as part of the national inspection plan or be in a high-status objective catchment area or a priority area for action. I appreciate that the State cannot pay for everybody, but the criteria and the process have to be made much easier for people to seek out the grant. Moreover, householders, many of whom are elderly, have to pay in advance for the works and then recoup the grants, which is a further deterrent. Dr. Matt Crowe has argued it would be much more effective if the grant were opened to everyone but with payments graded in value depending on the urgency of the problem. As mentioned, there are almost 500,000 septic tanks in the country, and the EPA reported last month that 45% of inspections had failed to meet the required standard.

This is one of the biggest challenges we have in rural Ireland. People probably cannot go down a rural lane without getting the stench of a septic tank. It is an acquired skill to be able to distinguish between slurry and a septic tank, but if you live in rural Ireland, you will be familiar with the nuanced difference. It is a perplexing problem and a source of immense disappointment to us as rural TDs. If we look at our diaries to see who is coming in to meet us and we see someone scheduled to come to talk about a septic tank grant, our hearts truly sink because these are people going out of their way to do what they need to do and what is right for the environment to address a shortcoming in something. When they were granted planning 30 years ago, it made eminent sense at that time to give people septic tanks, but technology has moved on. We now have much better systems and we should be making it much easier for people to replace those septic tanks, rehabilitate them and put right the issues that are there.

At the moment, based on the current runway, we are going to pay out only about €500,000 in septic tank grants this year, which is an inadequate response to a major issue for us in rural Ireland. I hope this debate will be an opportunity to impress on the Minister and his officials in the Department the need to revisit this because it is a major issue for rural Ireland, those 500,000 homes and, specifically, the 45% of those septic tanks that are inadequate and are causing environmental concerns in rural Ireland.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue and providing me with the opportunity to address the matter on behalf of the Minster for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The policy of providing grant support for domestic wastewater treatment systems, or septic tank grants, arises from the need to address damage being done to water quality in sensitive areas, in particular, and in areas of the greatest environmental priority to protect human health and the environment.

The purpose of the grants is to provide financial assistance to households for works to septic tanks to protect human health and the environment and to help Ireland meet our commitments under the river basin management plan. Three individual types of grants are available to householders and their purpose is to provide financial assistance to households to repair, upgrade or replace a defective septic tank. The grants are not general in application and are available only if the septic tank has failed an inspection under the national inspection plan and an advisory notice has issued or if it is located in either a prioritised area for action or a high-status objective catchment area as defined in the river basin management plan.

Following a review of the scheme in 2023, the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, announced substantial improvements to the terms and conditions of all three grants. An increase to the funding available for households was agreed, from €5,000 to €12,000, and there was a removal of the requirements for the purposes of the grant for households to have registered their wastewater treatment system with the local authority.

The modifications to the conditions and levels of the grants available came into effect from 1 January of this year. It is likely the changes made will encourage more householders to seek and avail of the grant and consequently help reduce the risk of environmental impact from defective tanks. However, the grant support being provided is focused on the areas of greatest environmental priority to protect human health and the environment and is not general in application.

Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State and appreciate him standing in on behalf of the Department of housing. It is somewhat disappointing a Minister was not available to take the question but I am sure the officials will relay my dismay and frustration with this grant scheme. The reality is that in the case of County Longford only a small number of inspections, possibly three, are carried out over the course of the year, so it is virtually impossible to access this grant in Longford. I am familiar with one elderly lady who accessed the grant last year and her quandary is that she does not have the €12,000 to pay in advance before she can get those works carried out.

This is a major environmental challenge for us in rural Ireland. We are hammering farmers on the nitrates issue. We are blaming farmers for the impact on water quality right across Ireland and making it a major issue for the farming community. Yet we have 500,000 septic tanks in every county, parish and area across rural Ireland, many of which are defective, and for a payment in the region of €12,000 to €15,000, in most instances, we can put these septic tanks right. If we are serious about the environment, and we have made it a pillar of this Government that are serious about the environment, we need to make a strategic decision and act now on septic tanks. It is an investment in the future. It is a small price to pay. This year, it looks like we will spend less than €500,000 on the septic tanks grant. It is an indictment of us as a Government, it is an indictment on our commitment to the environment and it is an indictment on how we treat people in rural Ireland.

A young lady came to me a number of months ago and she was trying to access the septic tank grant. She is a hard-working young woman who works as a vet. She has never turned to the Government or to society for anything at any stage in her life. She thought she could access this grant but was told no and that she would not even be selected for an inspection. It is truly disheartening for people in rural Ireland to be treated like this when it comes to septic tanks. I urge my colleagues in government to join me in trying to seek a reversal of the current guidelines for this scheme.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Flaherty for his comments and will relay them to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien.

Grant support is available for households where there are identified water pollution risks. However, it should be noted that, under the Water Services Act, the owner of a system is responsible for its maintenance and for keeping it in good repair. The local authorities have a key role in the administration of the grants in their areas, and they work with the EPA to implement the national inspection plan. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, is satisfied that the review completed and the modifications made will result in an increase of applications in 2024 and beyond. He has no plans to make further changes to the qualifying criteria.