Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan said Ireland is now in compliance with a European Court of Justice ruling to regulate the installation and use of septic tanks.
The State was ordered to pay €2 million and a fine of €12,000 per day on December 19th because, the European Commission argued, poorly designed, located or maintained tanks were putting human health at risk due to the danger of pathogens entering drinking water.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland today, Mr Hogan said the daily fine would be paid up to the end of next week, when a septic tank inspection programme prepared by the Environmental Protection Agency would be submitted to the European Commission.
Mr Hogan said he had met with the Commission yesterday, and they had indicated the plan would be approved.
“We are now in compliance with the European Court of Justice judgment which I inherited and the previous government did nothing about,” he said.
The latest figures show 60 per cent of septic tank owners have registered under the septic tank inspection scheme so far.
Mr Hogan urged those who had not yet registered and paid the €50 fee to do so before the February 1st deadline.
According to the 2011 Census, there are 497,281 septic tanks and other on-site waste-water treatment systems in the State.
