Results 5,081-5,100 of 14,706 for speaker:Phil Hogan

Finance (Local Property Tax) Bill 2012: Second Stage (14 Dec 2012)

Phil Hogan: I recognise that certain Fianna Fáil Deputies are suffering confusion about the matter. They negotiated this tax with the troika but now they are in Opposition, they are against it.

Finance (Local Property Tax) Bill 2012: Second Stage (14 Dec 2012)

Phil Hogan: We still have a bit to go on the new Fianna Fáil. Despite grave warnings about doomsday scenarios by people who regard themselves as socialists, I am pleased to report the household charge has been a success.

Finance (Local Property Tax) Bill 2012: Second Stage (14 Dec 2012)

Phil Hogan: Deputy Cowen should know better than anyone how this was negotiated. The household tax has raised almost €113 million and 70% of liable owners have registered to pay it. That is a big difference from the 30% Deputy Healy predicted last year. I take this opportunity to thank the silent majority of the people who understand the difficulties we face and are prepared to contribute to...

Finance (Local Property Tax) Bill 2012: Second Stage (14 Dec 2012)

Phil Hogan: Despite the efforts and rhetoric of Deputy Higgins and others, the majority have complied with this law. They are legally compliant because they want to be responsible citizens in helping us to overcome our economic and financial difficulties. The politics of realism of so many people have prevailed over the politics of scaremongering and intimidation. The people who advocated against it...

Finance (Local Property Tax) Bill 2012: Second Stage (14 Dec 2012)

Phil Hogan: Deputy Wallace is not left wing.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: European Union Presidency and Environment Council Meeting: Discussion (13 Dec 2012)

Phil Hogan: Deputy McLoughlin has posed a good question. Little account has been taken of the significant achievement made in Durban in 2011, at which conference everybody agreed to signing up to a legally binding global agreement by 2015, including, as mentioned by the Deputy, the United States, Russia and China. The fact that they are still on board following the Doha conference and that there is a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: European Union Presidency and Environment Council Meeting: Discussion (13 Dec 2012)

Phil Hogan: I thank the Chairman for his remarks. By the end of next week, we will have achieved all of the targets outlined to the committee last January, which does not often happen. This does not happen by accident but by way of a great deal of hard work by the Government and its officials. I take this opportunity to thank my officials who have worked exceptionally hard in the past year on a body...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: European Union Presidency and Environment Council Meeting: Discussion (13 Dec 2012)

Phil Hogan: Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy asked about the LIFE programme which is tied with issues concerning the EU budget. I had expected to be able to assure the committee that the programme would be progressed during our Presidency, but I cannot do so, as the budget has not been agreed. I hope it will be agreed to in February. This important programme is a sizable issue for many member states,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: European Union Presidency and Environment Council Meeting: Discussion (13 Dec 2012)

Phil Hogan: Officials will brief the committee on it next Tuesday.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: European Union Presidency and Environment Council Meeting: Discussion (13 Dec 2012)

Phil Hogan: The proposals with regard to CO2 emissions from cars and vans are to set new standards, given the technological developments being made in the manufacture of cars and vans. Obviously, they will be lowered. Countries with car manufacturing industries will have a view on this issue. However, we can be ambitious because we do not manufacture cars, but Germany, Italy and Spain, in particular,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: European Union Presidency and Environment Council Meeting: Discussion (13 Dec 2012)

Phil Hogan: That is a different issue. A significant number of substances and pharmaceutical products are on a priority list which cannot be added to water. We are reviewing the legislation to see what additional products we can add to either a watch list or the priority list. The priority list is much more serious and if certain products are on it, end of pipe solutions to ensure water is purified...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: European Union Presidency and Environment Council Meeting: Discussion (13 Dec 2012)

Phil Hogan: I know it. I was involved in the project.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: European Union Presidency and Environment Council Meeting: Discussion (13 Dec 2012)

Phil Hogan: The Deputy is not bad at that himself.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: European Union Presidency and Environment Council Meeting: Discussion (13 Dec 2012)

Phil Hogan: The Deputy has mentioned a very important matter. I am a very strong supporter of anaerobic digestion systems which I included in my waste policy last July as a treatment for waste under the waste framework directive. Developing the project requires scale and, therefore, the promotion of a co-operative system or a community-led solution whereby farmers come together for that purpose, as...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: European Union Presidency and Environment Council Meeting: Discussion (13 Dec 2012)

Phil Hogan: Farmers came together on a co-operative basis and extracted methane.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: European Union Presidency and Environment Council Meeting: Discussion (13 Dec 2012)

Phil Hogan: I agree with the Deputy on the need to promote its use. It is part of our policy and I promote it as best I can. While I cannot micro-manage communities to get them to come together, they will certainly receive strong support from the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government where they want to establish such co-operatives.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: European Union Presidency and Environment Council Meeting: Discussion (13 Dec 2012)

Phil Hogan: There is a lot of misinformation, but the extraction of gases through anaerobic digestion from landfill sites or slurry has great scope and we will promote its use as best we can to allay fears about the process.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: European Union Presidency and Environment Council Meeting: Discussion (13 Dec 2012)

Phil Hogan: Did the Deputy see the targets we set out last January?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: European Union Presidency and Environment Council Meeting: Discussion (13 Dec 2012)

Phil Hogan: What do they say about the heads of the Bill?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: European Union Presidency and Environment Council Meeting: Discussion (13 Dec 2012)

Phil Hogan: December.