‘We are the dirty man of Europe burying our head in the sand’

THE truth is that no one knows what’s coming down the line for septic tank owners — certainly not the minister.

Ireland’s failure to address the 2009 European Court of Justice judgement against Ireland to prevent pollution by human waste is now the subject of a new court action.

Unless we are able to reassure the court that we have a ‘plan’ to end this pollution, a lump sum will be charged and daily fines will also be imposed. We must also meet the 2001 EU criterion for environmental inspections, as experience has shown that environmental law is meaningless without inspections.