One neighbour gets septic tank grant, the other doesn't... it will cause resentment

Calls for grants to be extended to all areas for the upgrading of wastewater treatment systems were made during a heated debate at the May meeting of Cavan County Council.

The discussion was initiated by Fine Gael’s Cllr Peter McVitty tabled a motion asking for Cavan County Council to write to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage seeking approval for “eligibility of the scheme to be extended to the entire county and not just confined to certain areas”.

He told those gathered that he has become inundated with complaints from residents whose neighbours secured the grant but they didn’t qualify based on their eircode. “I can’t understand why this is happening,” Cllr McVitty continued before adding that a letter to the Department “to get a bit of clarity on the matter” might prove helpful and “bring a bit of common sense” to the situation.

Cllr Aine Smith (FF) said many people were feeling disheartened because they didn’t qualify and she supported the motion.

Sinn Féin’s Paddy McDonald then pointed out that, while €5,000 [of a grant] wouldn’t be enough to upgrade to a new unit, it was nonetheless helpful and it should be made available to everyone in rural Co Cavan who has a septic tank that operates on the old system.

Belturbet’s Brendan Fay (Ind) agreed clarity on the grant is needed. “If you have one family getting it and another doesn’t, then it creates resentment,” he remarked.

Cllr Shane P. O’Reilly asked the executive how many applications it had received under the scheme in Co Cavan?

Those figures will be provided at the next meeting of the county council, which won’t take place until after the Local Elections on June 7.