THE MANDATORY REGISTRATION of septic charges ahead of their nationwide inspection will be delayed by some time, the Department of the Environment has admitted.

The Department last night advised that there had been a delay in setting up the registration system for domestic waste water systems and septic tanks, as was required under legislation approved by the Dáil earlier this year.

Hogan last month said he expected to sign commencement orders for the Water Services (Amendment) Act 2012 by mid-April – but this has now been deferred for an unspecified time.

The Department said last night that the reduced fee of €5 announced by environment minister Phil Hogan, incentivising people to sign up for inspections within the first three months, would only kick in whenever registrations were formally opened.

The delay will put further pressure on Hogan, who is already under fire for the poor registrations for the household charge, as well as the ongoing confusion over the rollout of water metering and charges.

Legislation requiring registration and regulation of septic tank standards was required following a 2009 finding by the European Court of Justice that Ireland had not implemented a set of EU waste-water directives dating from 1975.

The rushed implementation of the legislation led to rows between the government and opposition sides, with the government saying it would face immediate fines if it did not have the legislation enacted by February 3.

This was disputed by the European Commission and the opposition parties.