Results 5,721-5,740 of 14,706 for speaker:Phil Hogan

Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (24 Nov 2011)

Phil Hogan: Why not table an amendment?

Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (24 Nov 2011)

Phil Hogan: Was he here that night?

Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (24 Nov 2011)

Phil Hogan: Most reasonable Members are coming to the conclusion, after many hours of debate, that Fianna Fáil Senators are not interested in protecting ground-water or the environment. They are not speaking-----

Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (24 Nov 2011)

Phil Hogan: -----like people who are interested in public health. We are trying to comply with a judgment while also providing good quality ground-water.

Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (24 Nov 2011)

Phil Hogan: Fianna Fáil criminalised them.

Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (24 Nov 2011)

Phil Hogan: We are only providing for registration.

Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (24 Nov 2011)

Phil Hogan: We are amending the principal Act which Fianna Fáil introduced. Senator O'Donovan expressed concern about the impact of these matters on house sales. If I was buying a house I would seek an engineer's report to ensure everything was in order before I closed the sale. Under consumer protection legislation I would be able to sue the solicitors and other professionals who advised me if their...

Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (24 Nov 2011)

Phil Hogan: The Senator is asking me to blame Ford if I am driving a Ford Mondeo when I have a motor accident. The owner is responsible.

Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (24 Nov 2011)

Phil Hogan: Somebody has to be responsible. Human intervention is what changes things. It is also what makes things right. Under this Bill, human intervention will make sure septic tanks do not contaminate ground-water.

Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (24 Nov 2011)

Phil Hogan: One can sue the people.

Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (24 Nov 2011)

Phil Hogan: I did not interrupt the Senators. I ask them to allow me to speak. This legislation has, in the normal way, gone to the Attorney General and we are satisfied that the protections for property rights are in order and it complies with the judgments of the European Court of Justice in terms of the common good as set out in environmental law and property law.

Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (24 Nov 2011)

Phil Hogan: The Senator should table the amendment on Report Stage.

Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (24 Nov 2011)

Phil Hogan: I am not doing that.

Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (24 Nov 2011)

Phil Hogan: As a member of the professions, Senator Denis O'Donovan will be aware that one delegates and devolves functions to architects and engineers to make sure everything is in order before one buys a house. What is required in this case is a certificate of compliance for a septic tank signed by an engineer. There is no need for another inspection to be carried out by a local authority.

Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (24 Nov 2011)

Phil Hogan: The engineer signs up to the fact that the septic tank is working. That is what a professional does. An architect signs off that a house is in compliance with regulations, while an engineer signs a certificate of compliance indicating that the septic tank is working. If an inspection takes place in a few years at random, for example, in a high risk area, that is a separate issue. The...

Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (24 Nov 2011)

Phil Hogan: I am glad the Senator does.

Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (24 Nov 2011)

Phil Hogan: Solicitors in west Cork accepted the fact that a septic tank was not in the proper place a few weeks ago.

Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (24 Nov 2011)

Phil Hogan: It should not happen and solicitors should not allow it to happen.

Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (24 Nov 2011)

Phil Hogan: That covers a multitude.

Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (24 Nov 2011)

Phil Hogan: As a solicitor, I am surprised the Senator accepts that the law is an ass.