Householders 'ignoring leaking septic tanks as they can't afford to replace them'

People who live outside the so-called ‘high risk’ areas, but who know their septic tanks are leaking, are not repairing or replacing them because they can’t get a grant as they can’t get inspected, county councillors have claimed. File picture

Thousands of septic tanks are likely to be leaking and causing unnecessary pollution all over the country due to an anomaly in inspections and grant-aid to repair them, councillors in Cork have claimed.

There are an estimated 500,000-plus septic tanks in the country, mostly in rural areas, and local authorities carry out a relatively small number of inspections on them each year.