This article is from page 16 of the 2012-01-24 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 16 JPG
MEMBERS of Clare County Council have rejected claims that new septic tank laws will have no impact on homes in urban areas.
Critics of the new water services Bill have claimed that it will unfairly target rural areas by imposing high upgrade costs while urban dwellers will not be penalised. However at a special meeting of the council called to debate the new Water Services Bill, councillors rejected the suggestion that it would create a divide between rural and urban communities.
Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) said that the highest density of septic tanks occurred around urban areas such as Ennis (east and west) and Kilrush. “It’s not simply a rural/urban issue,” he added.
Cllr Patricia McCarthy (Ind) said that the new legislation would affect both rural and urban areas. She said homeowners are “genuinely scared” by some of the comments being made on the issue. She said that the view has been out forward that most of the septic tanks in the county would fail inspection. She said this was not the case.
Mayor of Clare, Cllr Pat Hayes (FF) said communities in small villages could struggle to upgrade sep- tic tanks because of a lack of space. Cllr Pat Keane (FF) said a simple solution could be found if the Government agreed to pay homeowners to upgrade their wastewater systems. Members agreed to pass three motions calling for the Government grant scheme to be put in place to assist with the upgrading of septic tanks. A motion proposed by Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) and seconded by Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) also stated that “time allocated to householders to upgrade their septic tank systems should reflect evidence from on the ground inspections needed to quantify cost, risk of pollution, appropriate grant aid etc.”