Kelly: Hogan will answer questions on Irish water at a later stage

The Minister for the Environment, Alan Kelly, said it is up to Phil Hogan to answer questions concerning what he knew about the €50m spent on consultants at Irish Water.

Kelly was commenting on reports that his predecessor signed off on a budget breaking down the utility’s establishment costs three months before denying he knew the specifics.

Hogan is in the running for the EU’s Agriculture Commissioner position, and is now facing calls to account for what he knew and when about Irish Water.

However, Minister Alan Kelly says it’s too soon to talk about bring Phil Hogan before a Committee, and that he will be called up at an appropriate time.

"All commissioners go before scrutinisation by the relevant committee that they're answerable to, or aligned to," he said.

"As part of that process, I've no doubt that he'll be asked an awful lot of tough questions."