Results 4,761-4,780 of 14,706 for speaker:Phil Hogan

Septic Tank Regulation (15 Sep 2011)

Phil Hogan: I thank Deputy Wallace for the contribution he has made to good quality groundwater in County Wexford. In regard to Deputy Pringle's question, I am sure he is aware from his experience of water services that plenty of septic tanks predate 1963. I am sure they are located in County Donegal as well as County Kilkenny. We want to know their locations because they could be damaging groundwater...

Waste Management (15 Sep 2011)

Phil Hogan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 7, 10 and 39 together. As the waste collection market is currently structured, the pricing schemes used by private waste collectors are a matter for determination between the service providers and consumers of the service, subject to a service provider's collection permit and other legal responsibilities being complied with. The Waste Management (Collection...

Waste Management (15 Sep 2011)

Phil Hogan: I share Deputy Keating's surprise and disappointment that an individual company used the fact that we are diverting waste from landfill to other parts of the waste hierarchy to take this course of action. I will examine the situation outlined by Deputy Keating in the context of the review of waste policy and reach a conclusion by the end of the year.

Waste Management (15 Sep 2011)

Phil Hogan: Deputy Collins is correct in regard to the difficulties we may encounter in resolving this issue. The issues he outlined are arising elsewhere but I am aware of one provincial town which is served by 14 waste collection companies, five of which collect from the same estate. That is not sustainable nor is it in the interest of the companies concerned. I am considering the idea of franchised...

Waste Management (15 Sep 2011)

Phil Hogan: Issues of competition arise and the report of the Competition Authority makes it clear that local authorities are getting out of the market because they cannot compete with private operators in terms of delivering quality services.

Waste Management (15 Sep 2011)

Phil Hogan: The Ombudsman issued a report some time ago advocating the provision of waivers in regard to waste collection. I am sympathetic to that position and have asked that it be taken into account in the context of the waste policy review I am currently overseeing. There are people who can afford these services and others who cannot. However, I am also concerned to have a comprehensive service in...

Waste Management (15 Sep 2011)

Phil Hogan: I had not heard that the Poolbeg facility is going ahead. Perhaps the Deputy has more information than I on this issue and is making an announcement here this evening. From my perspective, it is a matter for contract between a United States company and Dublin City Council. As a member of that local authority, Deputy Joan Collins will have been hearing reports about it on a regular basis....

Waste Management (15 Sep 2011)

Phil Hogan: I already indicated to Deputy Ellis that I am sympathetic to this consideration and that, moreover, we are obliged to consider the Ombudsman's report on this matter which supports the provision of waivers, whether by public or private collectors. That report will inform Government policy in regard to the provision of waivers when we have completed our review of waste policy at the end of the...

Waste Management (15 Sep 2011)

Phil Hogan: As I said, I am sympathetic to the consideration of providing a waiver facility for private and public collections, depending on income. I agree that indiscriminate dumping and fly tipping is happening throughout the country. It is also a question of reviewing our litter legislation and facing up to the cultural change that is required. People must be made to understand that this type of...

Waste Management (15 Sep 2011)

Phil Hogan: It was my understanding that the Deputy's party held the balance of power on the local authority.

Waste Management (15 Sep 2011)

Phil Hogan: I am sure there are pensioners and low-income families in every county. I am not in a position to ring-fence a national policy position for County Laois. I am sorry to disappoint the Deputy.

Waste Management (15 Sep 2011)

Phil Hogan: If it were apply to Laois, it would have to apply everywhere else.

Leader Programmes (15 Sep 2011)

Phil Hogan: The Rural Development Programme 2007-2013 is divided into 4 axes. Axis 1 deals with the competitiveness of the agricultural sector and axis 2 aims to improve the countryside and environment. The objectives of axis 3 are to support the diversification of the rural economy and improve the quality of life in rural areas. Axis 4 provides support for the use of a "bottom-up" approach to...

Leader Programmes (15 Sep 2011)

Phil Hogan: I agree with Deputy Naughten that this is a serious issue. That is the reason I continue to try to resolve it. What is needed is more flexibility in regard to how moneys can be drawn down through the various programmes. The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Foods, as the lead Department, also has a role to play in providing funds through the rural development programme. I will be...

Leader Programmes (15 Sep 2011)

Phil Hogan: There is no bureaucracy tied up in it rather, it is question of money. The European Commission decided to suspend the axis 1 programme.

Leader Programmes (15 Sep 2011)

Phil Hogan: No, it is not. If the money was in place there would be no difficulty. The money is not in the programme to which the European Commission allocated the money, as the Deputy knows. If it was in place, we would not be having this conversation. I will be visiting the LEADER tent at the ploughing championships. I have been lobbied on this issue by the Deputy and other Members and by LEADER...

Waste Management (15 Sep 2011)

Phil Hogan: The legislative provisions in relation to the waste facility levy were deleted from the Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011 during its passage through the Oireachtas in order to avoid a situation of non-compliance with the EU waste framework directive which I transposed by Regulations at the end of March 2011. If the levy, as proposed in the previous Government's Environment...

Waste Management (15 Sep 2011)

Phil Hogan: I never cease to be amazed by the number of people who want to show me the new technologies available in regard to conversion from waste to energy. This is an exciting time for the marketplace in terms of the opportunities and technologies, including that mentioned by the Deputy. I have no favoured outcome. I want to see us diverting from landfill into whatever process will work, be it...

Written Answers — Urban Renewal Schemes: Urban Renewal Schemes (15 Sep 2011)

Phil Hogan: To date, and on the basis of an Exchequer investment of some €695 million, the Ballymun Regeneration Project has provided for 2,955 new housing units, new parks, roads and community facilities, as well as various social and economic interventions. Oversight of the regeneration by Ballymun Regeneration Limited, now in its completion phase, is the responsibility of a management team of five,...

Written Answers — Urban Renewal Schemes: Urban Renewal Schemes (15 Sep 2011)

Phil Hogan: The Government remains fully committed to the regeneration of the most-disadvantaged areas of our cities and towns, including St. Teresa's Gardens. In 2008, with support from my Department, Dublin City Council established a multidisciplinary Special Housing Taskforce to examine all options with regard to the future regeneration of the six former PPP projects and in particular to examine the...