An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-28 ============================================================ Pauline Tully (SF), Cultural and Educational Panel I second the amendment to the Order of Business. I will raise an issue around a recent EPA report on domestic wastewater treatment system inspections in 2025. There are nearly half a million domestic wastewater treatment systems in the country. Most of them are septic tanks. Homeowners are required to register their septic tank with the local authority. The local authority is required by the EPA to carry out inspections but they only carry out a limited number every year. Most local authorities do and even carry out in excess of what they are required. There were three who did not carry out the required number last year, but they will have to do that this year. Of those inspected, 59% failed the inspection. If a septic tank is not working properly, it is a risk to human health. If it is a faulty system, it can contaminate drinking water from wells. There can also be a run-off into rivers and lakes. It is a risk to the environment as well because then our lakes and rivers are being polluted. If your septic tank or domestic wastewater treatment system is inspected and it fails, the local authority will issue an advisory note asking you to get it fixed and then you can apply for a grant to do so. The cost of repairing these systems can vary depending on where you live in the country because it depends on the type of land that your septic tank is in. It could cost anything from €5,000 up to €20,000 plus. There is a grant available, if you get this advisory note, of up to €12,000, which is a great help, but if you suspect that your septic tank is not working properly, there is no way of getting that inspection done. You cannot request an inspection. You have to hope that your septic tank will be called. I am wondering whether this could be looked at. If you think your septic tank is not working, you can request the inspection and, therefore, get access to the grant if it fails the inspection. Otherwise, you are waiting and hoping that your septic tank might be inspected, and only a very limited number are inspected every year. It is a serious issue, both for human health and to the environment. It is something that could be looked at and I ask the Minister responsible to do so. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-05-28/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:01+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-05-28