Take a gamble to solve septic tank problem

Enda Kenny, you will shortly be writing a cheque for €3.1bn to hand over to gamblers who should really have lost when their horse fell. Thanks to the Government, they didn’t lose; they’re getting their stake back, plus interest.

I’m asking Mr Kenny to take a small gamble. Don’t write that cheque. Don’t give away billions in taxpayers’ money to people who could buy Ireland outright a hundred times over. Instead, upgrade every septic tank in the country to better-than-EU standards. For €3.1bn there’s almost €7,000 per septic tank to spend — and some tanks will not need any upgrading, leaving more to spend on difficult cases.

Think of the thousands of euro we’ll save by taking plumbers, labourers, excavator drivers, etc off the dole. They will pay down some of their mortgages and loans, so the bondholders still get paid. Win-win. They will pay tax on their wages, buy goods in shops with VAT on them, their suppliers will pay VAT and tax too. More money will be left with householders. Best of all, the EU will not fine us — all the taxpayers — for breaching water regulations.