Just two out of the 31 Fine Gael and Labour councillors on Cork County Council are outwardly opposed to the planned septic tank charge and inspection regime, which has generated massive resistance across the county.
The 31 councillors were all contacted by the Irish Examiner by telephone this week.
Goleen-based county councillor, Dermot Sheehan was the most vociferous in his opposition.
"I am not happy with the charge. I have written to Minister Hogan and Fine Gael headquarters repeatedly about this". He says the Department of the Environment has told him, however, that "there is no question of people having to upgrade their tanks to comply with the EPA’s 2009 code of practice". His belief is that any septic tank built before that date will just have "to function properly" as was required at the time of its planning permission.
In Macroom, Labour’s Martin Coughlan criticised the Government’s approach to the new charge, saying it has been a public relations disaster.
"They went around it the wrong way. If the inspections were free, there wouldn’t be half as much agitation."
In Mallow, Fine Gael’s Noel O’Connor wasn’t against the planned inspection regime, but believes the charge was not a wise political decision:
"The thing is the €50 won’t raise a lot of money. I’m not sure about the wisdom of the charge as they should have got the money in some other fashion as everyone is watching their money and only a small percentage of rural dwellers will be at fault.
"Also, it’s a bit like clamping in the cities. Nobody wants to see them attempting to use power excessively to clean up a small amount of offenders," he said.
In Ballincollig, Fine Gael’s Derry Canty said he understood how rural dwellers "are scared that this is just the start and that the charge will increase in time".
A large number of the Fine Gael and Labour TDs have called on the Government to soften the blow for their constituents by establishing a retrofit scheme, similar to the green energy system, so they can get help with any upgrades that might be necessary.
Bantry-based Tom Sheahan said: "I feel very strongly about water being protected. If there are problems with some tanks, there’s a serious need for grant aid then to help those people out. But first we need to identify the problems"
Fine Gael’s John O’Sullivan, based in Courtmacsherry, said people need to realise that the cost of contaminating a neighbour’s water supply is far higher than €50.
Read the article @ The Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Showing posts with label septic tank inspections. Show all posts
Showing posts with label septic tank inspections. Show all posts
Thursday, 2 February 2012
Friday, 4 November 2011
FF: €12k septic tank bills on way
RURAL houseowners may face bills of up to €12,000 according to Fianna Fáil under proposed laws to improve standards of septic tanks.
The Water Services Amendment Bill was published yesterday by Environment Minister Phil Hogan who said its purpose was to improve the quality of drinking water in rural areas.
Under the legislation, all septic tanks will be subject to an inspection and households will have to register them at a "modest fee" of €50, the minister said.
"Inspections may give rise to householders being advised to improve the maintenance of their system. Or, in more serious situations, may require the upgrading or remediation of the treatment system," he said.
Such repairs would cost up to €12,000 between planning permission, ecologist reports and construction, according to deputy leader of Fianna Fáil Eamon Ó Cuív. The Galway West TD, who previously said he would go to jail rather than pay the proposed inspection fees, said the bill confirms his worst fears about the cost to rural house owners.
The department responded he was "scare mongering" and that there was "no question of multiple inspection charges".
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
The Water Services Amendment Bill was published yesterday by Environment Minister Phil Hogan who said its purpose was to improve the quality of drinking water in rural areas.
Under the legislation, all septic tanks will be subject to an inspection and households will have to register them at a "modest fee" of €50, the minister said.
"Inspections may give rise to householders being advised to improve the maintenance of their system. Or, in more serious situations, may require the upgrading or remediation of the treatment system," he said.
Such repairs would cost up to €12,000 between planning permission, ecologist reports and construction, according to deputy leader of Fianna Fáil Eamon Ó Cuív. The Galway West TD, who previously said he would go to jail rather than pay the proposed inspection fees, said the bill confirms his worst fears about the cost to rural house owners.
The department responded he was "scare mongering" and that there was "no question of multiple inspection charges".
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Monday, 3 October 2011
Septic tanks plan to cost families €150m
The new septic tank inspection regime could cost rural dwellers up to €150m in upgrade costs. A proposed registration levy has already been set at €50 per household, which should net local authorities a cool €22m.
Nobody has been able to gauge what the potential upgrade costs might be for households with sewage systems that fail to pass the inspection.
However, a survey of 1,000 farmers carried out by the Farming Independent at the National Ploughing Championships clearly shows that one in six farm households are convinced that their tanks will not pass the inspection.
The Department of the Environment estimates that there are 440,000 rural homes with private sewage systems
The average cost of replacing or upgrading faulty tanks has been put at approximately €2,000. Based on these figures, up to 75,000 households will require upgrades amounting to €150m in order to pass the new septic tank inspection regime. This is after rural householders have stumped up €22m in registration fees to local authorities.
While two thirds of farmers in the survey said that they believed that their septic tanks would pass the proposed inspections, this fell to 55pc for partners and spouses of farmers who participated.
Tillage farmers and those with mixed or niche farm enterprises were the most confident sectors in relation to the performance of their sewage systems, while up to 20pc of beef, sheep and dairy farmers believed that their tanks would fail any proposed inspection.
One of the other key points to come out of the survey was the determination of young dairy farmers to expand over the coming year. Over half of all dairy farmers intend to expand over the coming months compared to less than one in three farmers in the sheep, beef or tillage sectors.
The hunger for expansion in dairying comes despite the admission by half of all dairy farmers that they are going to be over quota next March.
The survey will also give the Minister for Agriculture, Simon Coveney, cause for satisfaction, with less than one in 10 farmers rating his performance during his first six months in office as poor. His rating is particularly high among dairy farmers.
Farmers were unsure about how they would adapt to the possibility of 2014 becoming a reference year, although younger farmers indicated that they were more likely to lease extra land to maximise entitlements in any new regime.
Darragh McCullough
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Nobody has been able to gauge what the potential upgrade costs might be for households with sewage systems that fail to pass the inspection.
However, a survey of 1,000 farmers carried out by the Farming Independent at the National Ploughing Championships clearly shows that one in six farm households are convinced that their tanks will not pass the inspection.
The Department of the Environment estimates that there are 440,000 rural homes with private sewage systems
The average cost of replacing or upgrading faulty tanks has been put at approximately €2,000. Based on these figures, up to 75,000 households will require upgrades amounting to €150m in order to pass the new septic tank inspection regime. This is after rural householders have stumped up €22m in registration fees to local authorities.
While two thirds of farmers in the survey said that they believed that their septic tanks would pass the proposed inspections, this fell to 55pc for partners and spouses of farmers who participated.
Tillage farmers and those with mixed or niche farm enterprises were the most confident sectors in relation to the performance of their sewage systems, while up to 20pc of beef, sheep and dairy farmers believed that their tanks would fail any proposed inspection.
One of the other key points to come out of the survey was the determination of young dairy farmers to expand over the coming year. Over half of all dairy farmers intend to expand over the coming months compared to less than one in three farmers in the sheep, beef or tillage sectors.
The hunger for expansion in dairying comes despite the admission by half of all dairy farmers that they are going to be over quota next March.
The survey will also give the Minister for Agriculture, Simon Coveney, cause for satisfaction, with less than one in 10 farmers rating his performance during his first six months in office as poor. His rating is particularly high among dairy farmers.
Farmers were unsure about how they would adapt to the possibility of 2014 becoming a reference year, although younger farmers indicated that they were more likely to lease extra land to maximise entitlements in any new regime.
Darragh McCullough
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)