Sinn Féin councillor Rose Conway-Walsh has strongly criticised the decision of the Government to guillotine a debate on the Water Services Bill. “The important issues raised by constituents at the public meetings I arranged here in Belmullet and Newport need to be discussed in the Dáil,” she said.
“Following the Government’s decision to guillotine a debate on the Water Services Bill, it is clear it is running scared. We strongly feel that open and thorough debate is needed. But the truth is that the Government, and in particular Minster Hogan, is nervous that a full and open debate may well threaten the passage of the Bill.
“The Bill is fundamentally flawed and the Government obviously knows this. Rather than engage in rational discussion it is shutting down debate and forcing the Bill through the Oireachtas without full information on standards and regulations being made available.
“Sinn Féin has tabled 20 amendments in an attempt to reform the Bill and make it workable, including a call for the publication of standards for septic tanks and the establishment of a grant scheme to which households can apply seeking financial assistance in upgrading their septic tanks.
“And now unfortunately for the people of Mayo many of these amendments will not be debated. This is totally unacceptable.”
Fianna Fail meanwhile accused the Government of using false threats to force through the Septic Tank Bill. Mayo Fianna Fáil TD Dara Calleary stated: “Fianna Fáil was told by the Government in the Dáil last week that the controversial Septic Tank Bill is being guillotined at committee stage because the European Commission will fine Ireland €26,000 a day if the legislation is not in place by February 3. We have since contacted the Commission and established this is not true.
“The office of the European Environment Commissioner has confirmed to me that the European Court of Justice won’t reach its findings on this matter until the summer at the earliest, so fines cannot be imposed before then.
“The Government has used threats of imminent fines to force opposition parties into hurried decisions that will have very serious consequences for hundreds of thousands of home owners across the country.
“From the very start, Minister Hogan and his Government colleagues have attempted to bully the Irish people into accepting the septic tank legislation without allowing proper debate and providing adequate information about standards and costs,” Deputy Calleary added. “Minister Hogan has accused Fianna Fáil of ‘scaremongering’. We have argued all along that we recognise the need to register our septic tanks, ensure our water systems are clean, and adhere to the European Court order. However, we are against this Government’s attempts to push the entire cost of this process directly onto septic tank owners and to ignore their questions about inspection standards and resulting costs.”
