The unpopular “Septic Tank Charge” was supposed to be paid no later than February 1st 2013 .
To try and encourage more people to register – the government announced a new grant scheme . If homeowners didn’t register before the deadline they could lose out on potential future remediation grants of up to €4000.
Read more about Septic Tank Registration Here .
Septic Tank Grants
The grant scheme is means tested and provides financial assistance to households whose septic tanks or other waste water treatment system, require remedial work or upgrading following an inspection.
The first condition of eligibility is that an existing system older than Feb 1st 2013 – must have been registered on or before the 1st of February 2013.
For houses that have a treatment system constructed or installed after 1 February 2013 ; – the owners should register their systems within 90 days of the connection of the premises to the treatment system.
It is estimated that about 400,000 houses have their own waste water treatment system or septic tank.
The amount of grant available depends on the gross income of the household – but the maximum grant available is €4000 .
For a household with income below €50,000 a year – they can claim back 80% of the approved cost of any work required – up to a maximum of €4,000.
For a household with income between €50,000 and €75000 – they can claim back 50% of the approved cost of any work required – up to a maximum of €2,500.
No assistance is available to any houshold with income over €75000.
For the purposes of this grant scheme, approved cost means the actual cost or the costs estimated by the local authority to be the reasonable costs of carrying out such works, whichever is the lesser.
Between 2014 and 2017 there was about €748,000 paid out in grants for septic tanks.
There are proposals to change the grant scheme
- to remove the means test
- to increase the level of grant support to 85% of the eligible costs of installation/upgrade up to a maximum of €5,000
These proposals were announced earlier in 2019 but for some unknown reason have not yet been implemented.
If a house with a waste treatment system is sold – then the buyer will be able to apply for grant aid as long as the treatment system serving the property was originally registered before 1 February 2013.
The grant scheme could result in more pollution because people with old septic tanks will probably do no repairs to them in the hope of failing an inspection and getting a grant.
Only a very small percentage of systems will be inspected -in high risk areas.
Because our Septic Tank was very poor quality and we have had so much trouble with it for the past 5 years (having to be emptied every few weeks – the rainwater was running into it filling it up) we went ahead last week 12/12/2012 and had a new one fitted at the cost of €4,200. Now that there is a mention of a grant I hope we can claim retrospectively. Advice on this please.
Anna – I don’t think there will be much chance of you getting this grant. It only applies to those that have failed an inspection.
It looks like we won’t be able to retrospectively get the grant for our tank that we put in on 12th December (just before the grant was confirmed). Its all a big ploy I think to get people to register (possibly the grants will never materialise).
I will contintue to try as we had no option but to book the new tank for 1st December (the old one failed to work) and the new one was completed on 12th December. \ill keep you informed of what happens.!!!!
How is family income calculated? Is it gross or net income?
I live outside the EU most of the year but I still have a home in Ireland. I wonder will I be eligible for the grant if my 35 year old septic wont meet the standard. How can i prove that my income if is. I don’t work and am supported by my non EU wife and family.
Does any body have an idea of the average costs of a new sceptic tank including installing and other works. I would think that it would cost much more than .
Ray – A new waste treatment system could cost anything from €2k to €7k – plus digging ,percolation area , pipes etc.
The max €4k grant is probably not going to cover 80% of the full cost of a full new system in most cases – but it is better than no grant at all.
Homeowners should expect to have to repair and renew items in their property as time goes on – nothing lasts forever !
What happens if you fail inspection?
Is there a fine? How long do you get to resolve, before a reinspection?
What happens if you fail a second, or third time etc ?
I want to disconnect my septic tank and connect to mains sewage which has been newly installed on my road, is there a grant available to carry out the works to connect to mains?
we have a holiday home in Donegal and live in the north of Ireland will we be eligable for the grant or is it only for residents.