Has Hogan defused the septic tank row that could have been a stinker?

Environment Minister Phil Hogan will need to keep his fingers crossed that his announcement last week of that €50 charge to register septic tanks will quell one of the biggest political rows the west has seen.

Compared to the potential anger among the thousands of septic tank owners, the row over whether to cut turf in western bogs, is small-time stuff. The once-off houses in rural areas and in areas not served by sewerage and water services have ensured that there are thousands of householders deeply incensed at this issue.

Hogan, in the Dail, announced that the charge would be once-off and the money would be used to run the septic tank inspection systen which would conform with the European Union regulations on the septic tanks. It was up to the government to set up a system, or face massive fines from the EU.

Also keeping their fingers crossed will that swollen crop of Galway government TDs, most especially Sean Kyne and Brian Walsh (Fine Gael West Galway) – an area with one of the highest concentrations of septic tanks in the country.

It will also be a headache for Paul Connaughton and Ciaran Cannon (FG East Galway) and Colm Keaveney (Labour East Galway) who will have noted the size of the attendances at those recent meetings on the issue called by Marian Harkin MEP.

Galway was one area where the talk of a possible €300 fee – possibly per annum along with huge maintenance bills to keep the tanks up to the required standard – had resulted in hundreds of home owners turning out to those public meetings to voice their objection .... and show the government the major controversy this could become.  

Then came last week’s announcement of a once off €50 registration fee for the thousands of septic tank owners. He said it was definitely a once off and the funding raised would go towards the cost of carrying out the inspections.

But one of the leading campaigners in this row, Fianna Fail Deputy Leader Eamon Ó Cuív TD said this week that he had doubts whether some of the tank owners would accept even the concept of registration – it enshrined with a registration system the difference in treatment in this country between urban and rural dwellers.

He said that any charge promised as a once off might well be varied, and the inspection process to lead to real trouble ‘on the ground.’ He asked that would happen if there were houses where a neighbour had a traditional septic tank and the other had put in a very costly treatment system costing thousands. How could they be treated equally.

Fine Gael Dail Deputy Brian Walsh said that he and the other FG West Galway Deputy, Sean Kyne, would be pressing for the introduction of a grants scheme to be introduced at the same time as the registration system so that householders whose septic tank systems were not approved by the inspectors, would be aided in replacing the system.

He said that the present government had in many respects been left to pick up on another total dereliction of duty by the Fianna Fail-Green government which knew that the problem was there, that the EU was annoyed and yet it had done nothing about this septic tanks issue.

For more, read this week's Connacht Tribune.