Septic tank fee climbdown unlikely to dampen opposition

Phil Hogan’s decision to reduce temporarily the registration fee that will apply under the new septic tank inspection system is both a climbdown and a politicaltactic.

From April, when registrations will open, until the end of June, those who register their septic tanks will have to pay a fee of only €5. From July on, the originally mooted fee of €50 will apply.

The environment minister’s decision is a climbdown in the sense that he had previously made very clear the registration would be €50. “Everyone who owns a tank needs to register it in 2012 with their local authority for a one-off fee of €50,” he said & before Christmas.

He is now reducing it in the face of significant rural opposition. It’s a tactic in the sense that by offering a three-month window in which householders can avail of the lower €5 fee, he’s hoping that the bulk of septic tank owners will register — no matter how reluctantly — and therefore ease the introduction of the controversial new system.

However, the decision to offer householders the opportunity of saving money on the registration fee won’t ease their concerns about the system.

The fee was a relatively minor concern. The major issue was who would pay for repairs if problems were found with a tank during an inspection.

As of now, the minister has still not answered that question. Therefore, it seems unlikely that opposition will die away. The system is being driven by an EU directive and the Government’s desire to avoid the fines that would come Ireland’s way for non-compliance.

Mr Hogan says the system will ensure that groundwater, the environment and people’s health are all protected.

Under the initiative, everyone who owns a tank will be obliged to register it this year with their local authority.

Inspections will begin next year, and while there will be no further registration fee or inspection charge, householders — unless there is a much more significant Government climb-down — will have to meet the cost of repairing tanks if they are found to be in breach of standards.

At one point in recent months, Fianna Fáil deputy leader Éamon Ó Cuiv suggested householders could be hit with repair bills of up to €20,000.

In a Christmas interview with the Irish Examiner, Mr Hogan criticised that figure, saying it was “absolute nonsense”. But when pressed, he conceded in worst-case scenarios, bills of up to €8,000 could be incurred.

“There was an engineering expert on the radio talking about a maximum figure of about €8,000, and that would be the worst-case scenario.”

However, last night, he modified that position by quite a distance, suggesting that those with problematic tanks would, in fact, be facing maintenance costs of between just €50 and €100 every two years.

He also reiterated that only a limited number of tank owners would have problems.

Why the vast difference in estimates? It seems the guidelines the minister will introduce for inspections will not be as severe as had been originally envisaged.

Hence, fewer tanks will be in breach of standards and the scale of repair or maintenance work will be lower.

With guidelines that are not overly stringent, an inspection regime mainly targeted at problematic areas, and little sense that the Government will sanction the recruitment of dozens of new inspectors, it may well prove that the number of tanks found in breach is very small indeed and that most householders have no problems, and therefore no bills, other than the registration fee.

However, the minister’s assurances may not be enough to ease fears. It’s hard to imagine the political battle on this issue is finished just yet.