Results 8,241-8,260 of 14,706 for speaker:Phil Hogan

Building Regulations (28 Jun 2012)

Phil Hogan: Three quarters of the people who made submissions were consumers, including people in Priory Hall who provided some excellent suggestions. This is a ground-breaking measure to reverse the disastrous self-regulatory procedures which were in place-----

Building Regulations (28 Jun 2012)

Phil Hogan: It will be mandatory certification and oversight and I will put in place a system that will be a massive improvement on what we have today.

Property Taxation (28 Jun 2012)

Phil Hogan: The EU-IMF programme of financial support for Ireland contains a commitment to introduce a property tax for 2012. The programme reflects the need, in the context of the State's overall financial position, to put the funding of locally-delivered services on a sound financial footing, improve accountability and better align the cost of providing services with the demand for such services. It...

Property Taxation (28 Jun 2012)

Phil Hogan: This report will form the basis of discussions with my Government colleagues in the context of the budget and the funding of local government.

Property Taxation (28 Jun 2012)

Phil Hogan: No decision has been taken yet.

Property Taxation (28 Jun 2012)

Phil Hogan: People will be able to choose a payment option from a suite of options. The second home tax on second and subsequent homes was introduced in 2009 as a source of additional funding for local government. This will be merged with consideration of what we will do with regard to individual properties when the property tax is introduced in 2013 to 2014, as required under the EU-IMF agreement....

Water Pollution (28 Jun 2012)

Phil Hogan: The EPA 2009 code of practice sets out standards with regard to the design, installation and maintenance of on-site wastewater treatment systems; the code applies to new developments only. My Department issued Circular PSSP 1/10 to all planning authorities and to An Bord Pleanála on 5 January 2010, which sets out the arrangements to apply for the assessment of on-site wastewater disposal...

Water Pollution (28 Jun 2012)

Phil Hogan: I am sorry Deputy Daly did not avail of the opportunity to have 30 hours of discussions on these matters with Deputy Niall Collins and me at various committee hearings and on the floor of the House. She might have been more informed about what we are trying to do to deal with this very difficult issue.

Water Pollution (28 Jun 2012)

Phil Hogan: It is a difficult issue that dates back to 2009 when there was a proposal to have universal inspection of all septic tanks and to have the EPA code of practice of 2009 implemented. We negotiated with the European Commission. It brought us to court and that is the reason the European Court of Justice judgment was handed down. The Commission needed a comprehensive register of septic tanks in...

Water Pollution (28 Jun 2012)

Phil Hogan: I will be progressing the Gweedore sewerage scheme in line with several other sewerage schemes that are required. Over the last year and a half I have allocated and spent €400 million in places where, perhaps, people did not expect allocations to be made. That is particularly the case in County Galway, where there is a huge problem and huge under-investment in rural as well as urban...

Water Charges (28 Jun 2012)

Phil Hogan: The memorandum of understanding with the EU, IMF and ECB commits Ireland to introducing water charges for households during the programming period. However, no decision has been taken by the Government on the exact date for the introduction of water charges. The Government considers that charging based on usage is the fairest way to charge for water and it has decided that water meters...

Water Charges (28 Jun 2012)

Phil Hogan: It is far from my intention to suck away the local authority involvement in terms of knowledge or expertise. There will be service level agreements between Irish Water and local authorities. They will continue to be involved in the provision of water and wastewater facilities and the operation and maintenance of them at local level, as they are now. What I am taking away is the...

Local Government Elections (28 Jun 2012)

Phil Hogan: Unlike for Dáil constituencies, there are no constitutional or statutory requirements in relation to the frequency of local electoral area boundary reviews. The most recent reviews of local electoral areas were carried out in 1998 and 2008. The June 2009 local elections took place on the basis of the local electoral areas enacted following the 2008 review. I will now give consideration to...

Local Government Elections (28 Jun 2012)

Phil Hogan: Hopefully, people will be in a position to know whether they are going to contest the elections at the end of January 2013.

Written Answers — Household Charge: Household Charge (28 Jun 2012)

Phil Hogan: The Local Government (Household Charge) Act 2011 provides the legislative basis for the household charge. Under the Act, an owner of a residential property on the liability date of 1 January 2012 is liable to pay the household charge, unless otherwise exempted or entitled to claim a waiver. The household charge is on a self-assessment basis and it is a matter for an owner of a residential...

Written Answers — Water and Sewerage Schemes: Water and Sewerage Schemes (28 Jun 2012)

Phil Hogan: The rate of grant available for Group Sewerage Schemes is €2,031.58 per house or 75% of the cost of the scheme, whichever is the lesser. I have accepted a proposal from the National Rural Water Services Committee, who have a role in advising me on rural water policy, that the rate of grant be reviewed during 2012. They will be examining this issue, taking into account, inter alia, the...

Written Answers — Waste Management: Waste Management (28 Jun 2012)

Phil Hogan: In accordance with the provisions of the Waste Management Acts, the preparation and adoption of a waste management plan, including in respect of infrastructure provision, is the statutory responsibility of the local authority or authorities concerned, and under section 60(3) of the Act the Minister is precluded from exercising any power or control in relation to the performance by a local...

Written Answers — Water Services: Water Services (28 Jun 2012)

Phil Hogan: The Government decided in December 2011, based on the recommendations of an independent assessment, to establish a public water utility company, Irish Water, to take over the operational and capital delivery functions of local authorities in the water services area. Following further evaluation, the Government decided that Irish Water should be established as an independent state owned...

Written Answers — Local Government Reform: Local Government Reform (28 Jun 2012)

Phil Hogan: I refer to the reply to Questions Nos. 3 and 5 on today's order paper, which sets out the position on this matter.

Written Answers — Tourism Promotion: Tourism Promotion (28 Jun 2012)

Phil Hogan: In April 2012, I announced the provision of €2,150,000 in grant funding in 2012, to assist local authorities in their efforts to tackle the problem of litter through awareness raising, enforcement and the maintenance of key tourist areas across the country. €900,000 was made available under the Anti-Litter & Anti-Graffiti Awareness Grant Scheme, €750,000 under a new Litter Enforcement...