To get back to matters more at home, I draw to the attention of the House that the interim closing date for the registration of septic tanks is one week away on 28 September. To be fair to the Minister and the Department of the Environment, Culture and Local Government, it is a relatively modest €5. Colleagues will be aware that due to the deluges we had and the poor weather during the summer months industrial-scale treatment plants in Cork and Clare were overwhelmed and malfunctioned to the extent that some of our best known beaches in Cork and Clare had to be closed due to pollution and the proliferation of E. coli. Therefore, it follows that if there are 480,000 tanks throughout the country there is no doubt that on a local level many of these tanks would have malfunctioned, would have been overwhelmed and would have flooded.

Where is the evidence for that?

There is plenty of evidence because I saw it happening in my local area.

Where is the evidence? Bring it in. We would love to see it.

It is imperative that people stop paying lip service to the environment and to being good neighbours. There is a need for clean, safe sustainable water. It is reckless in the extreme to encourage people not to maintain and monitor their septic tanks or to ensure they are operating properly.

We all agree with that.

I urge country people to register with what is a modest charge of €5. It makes good sense. It makes one a good neighbour and it protects the local water resource, not to mention that not to do so would leave the State, the Government and the taxpayer exposed to millions of euro in fines from the EU because of not complying with EU directives.

What about tackling county council pollution? What is the Labour Party doing about it?