Results 8,201-8,220 of 14,706 for speaker:Phil Hogan

Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (25 Jan 2012)

Phil Hogan: That is exactly what I will do.

Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (25 Jan 2012)

Phil Hogan: Deputy Martin Ferris has had a good run.

Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (25 Jan 2012)

Phil Hogan: I will provide the answer if the Deputy bides his time.

Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (25 Jan 2012)

Phil Hogan: It would be very difficult for me to sign a blank cheque for the provision of financial support without first being aware of the extent of the problem. I stated on Second Stage and again on Committee Stage that we would consider the provision of financial assistance for people when we became aware of the extent of the problem in 2013 following the carrying out of inspections. That is what...

Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (25 Jan 2012)

Phil Hogan: I could not be any more fair.

Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (25 Jan 2012)

Phil Hogan: The debate has shifted to the level of grant assistance.

Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (25 Jan 2012)

Phil Hogan: Yes, that is the figure to which reference was made. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív indicated that he wanted to see universal inspection of septic tanks throughout the country on each occasion

Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (25 Jan 2012)

Phil Hogan: The information was contained in the relevant document.

Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (25 Jan 2012)

Phil Hogan: Therefore, it has nothing to do with the Deputy. He was in government, but he had no responsibility for it.

Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (25 Jan 2012)

Phil Hogan: Section 70C repeals the provisions contained in section 70 of the 2007 Act which was introduced by the Government of which Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív was a member. We are reducing the penalties introduced in that legislation from a maximum of €15 million in fines or five years in prison.

Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (25 Jan 2012)

Phil Hogan: I am repealing the relevant provisions of the 2007 Act in order to ensure the extremely onerous penalties to which I refer will no longer apply. These penalties were approved by Deputies Mattie McGrath and Éamon Ó Cuív and all of those who were members of or supported the previous Fianna Fáil-led Government.

Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (25 Jan 2012)

Phil Hogan: I am sure Deputy Michael Healy-Rae who was a councillor at the time was informed about this matter by his father, former Deputy Jackie Healy-Rae, who supported the legislation. Under the 2007 Act, the penalties are €15 million in fines and five years in prison if one does not comply with the standards relating to water quality. That is the record of the previous Government. I will not be...

Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (25 Jan 2012)

Phil Hogan: We are doing more than has ever been done before in the context of regulations.

Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (25 Jan 2012)

Phil Hogan: I will be publishing the regulations in draft form. That has not happened previously in respect of legislation of this sort.

Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (25 Jan 2012)

Phil Hogan: The regulations will have to be approved, following four weeks of consultation, by the House.

Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (25 Jan 2012)

Phil Hogan: They will be published when the legislation has been enacted. However, I will not be commencing the legislation until such time as the regulations have been approved.

Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (25 Jan 2012)

Phil Hogan: I know Deputy Martin Ferris is anxious to see them. I must inform Deputy Michael Healy-Rae that there is no confusion on my part. If he is adding to people's confusion, that is his problem. I will tell people the truth on any matters relating to rural areas. We have engaged in 35 hours of debate on this legislation and I would have expected the Deputy to have heard me, on several...

Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (25 Jan 2012)

Phil Hogan: The Deputy could have heard it from Deputy Brian Stanley if he had an interest in this debate. There will be no need to purchase additional land to comply with the legislation. There will be no annual inspection charges or re-registration charges, as I mentioned in answering a parliamentary question from Deputy Michael Healy Rae yesterday. There will be no 2009 EPA-type regulations as...

Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (25 Jan 2012)

Phil Hogan: I am sure the Deputy knows more about them than I do. He has been referring all day to an army of inspectors. There will be no army of inspectors. Local authority staff are the only ones who will be in charge of this.

Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (25 Jan 2012)

Phil Hogan: They are. Deputies Seán Crowe, Brian Stanley, Mick Wallace, Thomas Pringle and several others, including the Member for east Cork, mentioned the possibility of group sewerage scheme grants being increased. I indicated on Committee Stage that I was prepared to look at this. There are many ribbon developments along the road in County Roscommon and elsewhere in respect of which people would...