Results 7,861-7,880 of 14,706 for speaker:Phil Hogan

Written Answers — Illegal Dumping: Illegal Dumping (2 Feb 2012)

Phil Hogan: My Department has provided financial support for a number of waste enforcement initiatives related to illegal or unregulated landfill sites under a European Court of Justice ruling in case ECJ C494/01 in order to give effect to the Court judgment. This has included illegal sites which were unregulated at the time of the judgment, a number of local authority owned landfills which were...

Written Answers — Water Pollution: Water Pollution (2 Feb 2012)

Phil Hogan: In its Water Quality 2007-2009 Report, the Environmental Protection Agency noted the presence of microbial contamination arising from the entry of faecal matter to Ireland's waters and stated that one of the main sources of microbial pathogens was on-site waste water treatment systems, including septic tanks. The report states that while the proportion of monitoring points with faecal...

Written Answers — Community Development: Community Development (2 Feb 2012)

Phil Hogan: A key principle underlying my Department's community programmes is to enable communities themselves to identify and address social and economic needs and problems in their own areas. There is a particular focus on supporting communities that are vulnerable, disadvantaged or under threat, and an adherence to the values of local participation My Department is responsible for a range of...

Written Answers — Fire Service: Fire Service (2 Feb 2012)

Phil Hogan: The provision of a fire service in its functional area, including the establishment and maintenance of a fire brigade, the assessment of fire cover needs, the provision of a premises and the making of such other provisions as it considers necessary or desirable, is a statutory function of individual fire authorities under the provisions of the Fire Services Act 1981 and 2003. My Department...

Written Answers — Air Pollution: Air Pollution (2 Feb 2012)

Phil Hogan: Ambient air quality monitoring and assessment in Ireland is carried out in accordance with the requirements of Directive 2008/50/EC on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe, also known as the CAFE Directive. The CAFE Directive consolidated and replaced the earlier Air Quality Framework Directive and first three so-called "daughter" directives, and has been transposed into national...

Written Answers — Water and Sewerage Schemes: Water and Sewerage Schemes (2 Feb 2012)

Phil Hogan: My Department provides funding towards group water schemes by way of annual block grant allocations to local authorities under the Department's Rural Water Programme. Responsibility for the administration of this programme has been devolved to local authorities since 1997. The selection and approval of individual group scheme proposals for funding and advancement under the programme, within...

Written Answers — Public Sector Remuneration: Public Sector Remuneration (2 Feb 2012)

Phil Hogan: The tables outline the remuneration for Chief Executive Officers/equivalents in respect of State Agencies/Bodies under the aegis of my Department as sanctioned by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Chief Executive Officers/equivalents, may submit claims in respect of travel and subsistence expenses, incurred as part of their official duties, in accordance with the appropriate...

Household Charge (2 Feb 2012)

Phil Hogan: As part of the efforts to close the gap between income and expenditure in the public finances, the 2012 Exchequer allocation to local government was reduced in budget 2012 by €164 million compared to 2011. The introduction of the household charge in 2012 is therefore timely to allow local authorities to have the necessary resources to deliver services to their communities at close to...

Household Charge (2 Feb 2012)

Phil Hogan: It is a hypothetical situation. The collection date for the charge is 31 March 2012. In line with the experience of the second home charge, approximately 4% or 5% were registered at the same time in the three-month registration period for that charge. We are not unduly concerned because people pay at the last minute in most cases because they have the use of that money for a longer period...

Household Charge (2 Feb 2012)

Phil Hogan: The schedule has been laid down but I am sure any Deputy can make a case to the county manager. Ultimately, the county and city managers are responsible for the care and management of the collection of the charge. It can be considered if the estates are deemed to have been omitted in error.

Household Charge (2 Feb 2012)

Phil Hogan: The strict letter of the law is that estates are liable for payment if they have not been included in the schedule outlined in legislation. Ultimately, like any scheme, if the Deputy makes a strong case to the local manager, it will be examined to see if a genuine mistake has been made.

Household Charge (2 Feb 2012)

Phil Hogan: The care and management of the scheme is in the charge of the local authority and the manager is in charge of that authority.

Water Services (2 Feb 2012)

Phil Hogan: Section 70 of the Water Services Act 2007 provides that owners of septic tanks and other on-site wastewater treatment systems must ensure that their systems do not cause a risk to human health or the environment. The Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 augments the requirements of the 2007 Act and introduces a new registration and inspection system for septic tanks and other on-site...

Water Services (2 Feb 2012)

Phil Hogan: Deputy Stanley has had a long period of time as the legislation was passing through the Oireachtas to tease out these issues. No matter how often I say things, people read in whatever they want.

Water Services (2 Feb 2012)

Phil Hogan: We are here because the European Court of Justice lodged a judgment against Ireland in 2009 and we must deal with it. We must get agreement from the European Commission for anything we do. I have been in discussion with the European Commission in the past number of weeks and I am pleased to say that we have agreed these matters with the European Commission and the EPA.

Water Services (2 Feb 2012)

Phil Hogan: Yes, we must file a defence on the part of the State tomorrow so we had to have agreement. I will publish the regulations and standards shortly and will set out the agreement we reached in order to comply with the European Court of Justice ruling.

Water Services (2 Feb 2012)

Phil Hogan: Deputy Stanley will see the standards when they are published. There will be a four-week period of consultation and the misinformation and scaremongering by Fianna Fáil, Independents and Sinn Féin in public meetings around the country will be seen for what it is, generating fuss about nothing.

Local Authority Services (2 Feb 2012)

Phil Hogan: The Government decided in July 2011 that a unified local authority would be established to replace the existing north and south Tipperary county councils with effect from the 2014 local elections. An implementation group was appointed to oversee planning, preparatory work and initial implementation of the reorganisation process. The group submitted a progress report to me in November 2011,...

Local Authority Services (2 Feb 2012)

Phil Hogan: I will be able to enlighten the Deputy further on town councils and borough councils in about two months time when I will bring proposals about local government matters and structures generally to Government. At that time I will also indicate where savings can be made by all local authorities, including Tipperary. We can achieve a lot more in savings by streamlining all of the activities in...

Local Authority Services (2 Feb 2012)

Phil Hogan: I am surprised Deputy McGrath has a problem with a Tipperary man serving as an acting manager of County Tipperary structures. It does not augur well for the future in terms of unifying the country.