Every day we come to the House, we are hear about housing, housing, housing. During the week, the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, released a report on the inspections of septic tanks by local authorities. Areas were targeted where septic tanks were near rivers. The councils completed 1,390 inspections of tanks and found that 82% of the tanks were inadequate. We are talking about meeting housing targets. What the EPA has not done is look at the treatment systems going straight into rivers, which we have been looking to have upgraded for decades.

I have been working in construction all of my life, and I still am. We have given ideas to the likes of Uisce Éireann about how they could have more sewerage capacity in towns or villages on the same systems they have already if they separated the storm water from the sewage. In all towns, villages and cities, when they are piped from the houses out to the main street they all go into the one pipe. We gave Uisce Éireann the idea of putting in separators for water. At the moment, our treatment systems are working at their best during the summer because they are not dealing with water and are way below capacity. Some 25% to 30% of our sewerage systems are working perfectly during the summer. During the winter, what we are now treating is approximately 70% water. When the sewage comes in with the water and comes to a certain level in the treatment system, nothing gets treated because it goes out over the baffle wall and straight into the waterways around Ireland. This means that all the rivers and streams, and all the sewerage heads all around the country, are untreated because we do not have the proper people dealing with it.

Uisce Éireann, to me, is a runaway train. It is not giving value for money. It is not listening to anyone. There are solutions for our systems in this country to give us clean water by putting in different systems in order to deal with the equipment we have at the moment. Then we can upgrade as we can afford to do so. Uisce Éireann is not listening to common sense or to other engineers who say the technology is there to do what we need to do.

What we have to do is very simple, but Uisce Éireann tells us that this system is broken and that system is broken. Uisce Éireann is not listening to an engineering solution to help to build more houses with the same systems we have at the moment by just separating the storm water from the sewage. That is what I am asking for.

I thank the Deputy for raising a very key issue. He began by speaking about the septic tanks that are largely associated with existing housing stock across the length and breadth of the country. It is important that we improve upon them and refurbish and develop them and provide grant assistance to enable people to replace septic tanks that are old and not performing to the optimal level.

There are a lot of engineers in Uisce Éireann. A lot of them would argue that they know what they are doing.

A lot of them.

I have met them. We discussed one of the critical issues in towns and villages across the country, which is the need to free up capacity, for example to local builders if they are developing a housing estate of 20 houses or 50 houses so that they would be able to develop their own treatment facility according to the specifications set by Uisce Éireann. That would then be subject to inspection. I think that would help to create additional housebuilding in towns and villages throughout the country where currently, because of the absence of capacity or because there is no further capacity, such projects cannot get off the ground. A memorandum of understanding is being developed by Uisce Éireann in respect of that issue to set out the proposals to enable it to happen.

On the separation of storm water from sewage, I will not profess to be as technically competent as the Deputy in this area. Likewise, the Deputy mentioned the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA. All of Uisce Éireann's work is subject to compliance with the EPA, which is one of the regulatory authorities that govern Uisce Éireann along with the Commission for Regulation of Utilities and others. There has been a lot of progress made; of that there is no doubt. There has been a dramatic increase in water quality across the length and breadth of the country over the past decade or so. Local authorities did a lot of that work initially prior to the establishment of Irish Water. I think we need to maintain or retain local competence and knowledge in our local authorities on water, sewerage and so forth. There needs to be good partnerships between local authorities and Irish Water in that respect.

I visited Arklow recently where a first-class state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant was provided by Irish Water six months ahead of schedule and on budget. A lot of progress is happening. I will relay what the Deputy was saying to Irish Water. I do not know whether the Deputy has engaged with its representatives, or others, as a Dáil Deputy. I note that the most favoured words among Independent groupings in this House are "common sense".

Thank you, Taoiseach.

I suggest that maybe if you guys have a monopoly on it over everybody else-----

I call Deputy O'Donoghue.

I will say no more than that.

In the first part of his remarks, the Taoiseach said he had met with representatives of Irish Water. Maybe he needs to bring me with him to teach them a bit of common sense and give them some ideas and solutions. The Taoiseach mentioned the EPA and septic tanks. Yes, there are grants but the problem with the grant system for septic tanks is that in 2013 the Taoiseach brought in a system where people got €5,000.

I was not in government in 2013.

In 2013, there was a system whereby people got €5,000 to upgrade their septic tanks. They registered their tanks and if they qualified for the grant due to their tanks being defunct, they received the grant. The problem was that nobody qualified for the grant because the tank had to be tested first and only a small number of people got them tested. Now the grant is up to €12,000. There is a mapping system now, and three quarters of people do not qualify for that grant either. There are grants available for defunct tanks but people cannot get the grants. I ask the Taoiseach to look at the mapping system that has been introduced by the EPA. I am asking about equal opportunities for towns and villages. I am offering to help the Government. I am not going to criticise; I am offering to help.

I thank the Deputy.

We have had tanks in Oola for 15 years. Askeaton has been waiting 46 years for its treatment system to be upgraded. This is what I am talking about.

I thank the Deputy. The Taoiseach to respond.

I am offering help. I will meet Uisce Éireann representatives along with the Taoiseach and we will ask them how we can improve the system.

What is the Deputy saying about Askeaton?

It has been waiting for 46 years for a sewerage system.

I have spoken to Uisce Éireann representatives about this and they have a national mapping exercise already. With the best will in the world, if we want to build 50,000 houses per year and if we give an extra couple of billion euro to Uisce Éireann over the coming years, it will have to concentrate that spend on the big cities and big areas of population. Therefore, for smaller villages and towns we need an alternative system which allows for the provision of sewage treatment plants by the builder in accordance with detailed specifications by Irish Water, which has agreed to this now. It is my understanding that this will happen. That would help the Askeatons and Cloughjordans of this world and all of those who have been waiting for quite some time. If we look at the enormity of the investment required for every village in the country, we will see that it cannot be done centrally by Irish Water alone. The capacity just does not exist to do it.

It can be done by separating the water. I said I would help.

I thank the Taoiseach.

I accept the Deputy's good wishes.