Results 1,501-1,520 of 14,706 for speaker:Phil Hogan

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 25 - Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (Revised) (21 Jan 2014)

Phil Hogan: Yes, the Deputy is correct but it is there in front of her.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 25 - Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (Revised) (21 Jan 2014)

Phil Hogan: Well, one has to tell them the truth. Other outgoings include €50 million on miscellaneous schemes and the Irish Water subvention of €486 million. This comes to a grand total of €1.77 billion in expenditure. We supplement that with excess of income over expenditure of €68 million. If one wants to explain it to people, one cannot explain it clearer than that.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 25 - Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (Revised) (21 Jan 2014)

Phil Hogan: The Government wanted an 80% retention of the local property tax to allow local authorities more discretion in their budgets from 1 January 2014. However, we were not in a position to do that because of EU-IMF matters. We expect to be able to do it from 1 January 2015, instead. Those councillors elected on 23 May 2014 will be able to vary their budgets plus or minus 15% from the national...

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 25 - Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (Revised) (21 Jan 2014)

Phil Hogan: That is what they were telling us. There were surpluses of €26 million. They were not charging for the true cost of water supply. We put 40% of the capital into the Dublin region water supply. After one takes out the water supply funding which is now going to Irish Water and the local property tax, in 2014 there is an 11% increase in the moneys going to local authorities.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 25 - Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (Revised) (21 Jan 2014)

Phil Hogan: If the Deputy does not want to read the Revised Estimates, then it is not my problem.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 25 - Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (Revised) (21 Jan 2014)

Phil Hogan: The local authority heading shows €1.7 billion in income with €1.77 billion in outgoings. There is an 11% increase in local authority funding and we are in a bailout. That is a tremendous boost to local government funding.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 25 - Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (Revised) (21 Jan 2014)

Phil Hogan: In case anybody will come along and say I did not give more information, although it does not really concern this Vote I will provide information on the metering programme because I am sure Members are interested in it.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 25 - Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (Revised) (21 Jan 2014)

Phil Hogan: Yes, the Deputy did.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 25 - Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (Revised) (21 Jan 2014)

Phil Hogan: The current water meter installation programme commenced in August 2013. I am sorry to cut across Deputy Murphy but this might be helpful in terms of a question she asked about meters. I know they are busy installing meters around Leixlip. The approved budget for the metering programme is €539 million, excluding VAT, which includes the supply of the materials and the installation...

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 25 - Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (Revised) (21 Jan 2014)

Phil Hogan: Meters.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 25 - Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (Revised) (21 Jan 2014)

Phil Hogan: To take the Deputy's last question first, I will definitely be doing that. I agree with the Deputy wholeheartedly-----

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 25 - Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (Revised) (21 Jan 2014)

Phil Hogan: As soon as I can. I have already told the Deputy that I will do it in 2014 and I am doing everything I can to amend the building regulations to ensure that new buildings and new planning applications will have to include a rainwater harvesting plan. I totally agree with the Deputy on that point. I will provide the committee with the one or two pages of information on the financial issues...

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 25 - Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (Revised) (21 Jan 2014)

Phil Hogan: I do not know the answer to that but I will check.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 25 - Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (Revised) (21 Jan 2014)

Phil Hogan: I have no difficulty if it is retrospective. I am simply telling the Deputy that the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has agreed to bring this in as soon as possible. That is all I can say. I cannot put a date on it. I believe I have dealt with the issues raised.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 25 - Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (Revised) (21 Jan 2014)

Phil Hogan: The savings will be €2 billion. The Irish Water funding model will yield a potential saving of €2 billion over seven years. This is based on a comparison between the projected funding under the transitional arrangements to 2021 and the Irish Water funding model and it reflects projections regarding potential customer revenue, the funds from third parties, the likely levels of...

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 25 - Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (Revised) (21 Jan 2014)

Phil Hogan: They were taking into account efficiency gains of approximately €1 billion over the seven-year period but the gross savings that we are talking about are €2 billion.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 25 - Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (Revised) (21 Jan 2014)

Phil Hogan: I would have thought that the Deputy from Laois, my good friend Deputy Stanley, would actually welcome the 11% increase in funding to Laois County Council and all of the county councils in the allocations they received before Christmas-----

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 25 - Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (Revised) (21 Jan 2014)

Phil Hogan: I cannot understand it-----

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 25 - Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (Revised) (21 Jan 2014)

Phil Hogan: I know it is a disappointment to the Opposition that it does not have another bone to pick with regard to the funding of local government because the local authorities got an increase of 11%.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 25 - Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (Revised) (21 Jan 2014)

Phil Hogan: The carcasses are all strewn around the midlands. An additional €100 million has been given to the local authorities in 2014 to fund their programmes. That includes the proceeds of the local property tax.