Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

To be fair to Deputy Cowen, he was not involved, but Deputies Ó Cuív, Joan Collins and Mattie McGrath as well as members of his own party travelled around the country telling public meetings that there should have been a grant scheme, that people would need to pay an annual charge of €300 and that every septic tank would be inspected. Arising from a European Court of Justice case about which Deputy Cowen did nothing, we went to the European Commission. In spite of the legislation that I introduced quickly after I became Minister, we paid €2.7 million in fines because of the Deputy's inactivity. A part of the agreement that we worked out with the Commission was the requirement for inspections of 1% of everyone who had registered. Despite the protest meetings, 92% of people registered.