Results 2,441-2,460 of 8,445 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Energy Supply and Security: Discussion (30 Aug 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: On retrofitting of social housing, what measures will be taken to expand and bring forward the 30,000 ambition, which was quite low, within the Government retrofitting scheme? Rather than looking to loans and the market development, there is an opportunity and need this year to ensure the most vulnerable users, namely those in social housing, have retrofitting accelerated this winter. ...

Seanad: Planning and Development, Maritime and Valuation (Amendment) Bill 2022: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (Resumed) (14 Jul 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The Minister of State is speaking to the amendments made in the Dáil. Senator Boylan is referring to our proposed Seanad amendments. There are two sets of amendments being discussed.

Seanad: Planning and Development, Maritime and Valuation (Amendment) Bill 2022: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (Resumed) (14 Jul 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Amendment No. 1 seeks the deletion of the new subsection (6) inserted via the Dáil amendments into section 32B of the principal Act. That subsection inserted by the Minister provides that a request from a large-scale residential development applicant may include a request that the meeting be treated as a meeting for the purposes of an application under a section 32I. Amendment No. 2...

Seanad: Planning and Development, Maritime and Valuation (Amendment) Bill 2022: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (Resumed) (14 Jul 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: That is why I must speak to the full grouping now.

Seanad: Planning and Development, Maritime and Valuation (Amendment) Bill 2022: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (Resumed) (14 Jul 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Yes. I was making the point that it would have been useful to have the Minister of State rather than me outlining what is happening with the sections to be inserted, and where our permission for them to be inserted has been requested. We would have been clear about what they were doing.

Seanad: Planning and Development, Maritime and Valuation (Amendment) Bill 2022: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (Resumed) (14 Jul 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Yes. That is what I spoke to in outlining the amendments.

Seanad: Planning and Development, Maritime and Valuation (Amendment) Bill 2022: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (Resumed) (14 Jul 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: As I understand it, my amendments Nos. 1 and 2 seek the removal of measures to be inserted by the Minister in group 3. Is that correct? I am not using my speaking slot now but seeking clarification in respect of the grouping. It is the problem and may be why what the Minister of State outlined is disjointed compared with the grouped amendments. My amendments respond to the principle on...

Seanad: Planning and Development, Maritime and Valuation (Amendment) Bill 2022: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (Resumed) (14 Jul 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Should I be speaking to amendments Nos. 1 and 2 within the discussion on group 3? Is that the case? Will we agree that I can discuss them then?

Seanad: Planning and Development, Maritime and Valuation (Amendment) Bill 2022: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (Resumed) (14 Jul 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Regarding the amendments in group 2, then, these relate to the provisions in the Planning and Development Acts and the idea of the ministerial directions regarding statutory plans. I will be brief. As part of a topic we will discuss in more detail later, namely, what has been an extraordinary, relentless and systematic removal and diminution of power at local level, one of the major...

Seanad: Planning and Development, Maritime and Valuation (Amendment) Bill 2022: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (Resumed) (14 Jul 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Seanad Report Stage amendments Nos. 1 and 2 have been moved into the next grouping.

Seanad: Planning and Development, Maritime and Valuation (Amendment) Bill 2022: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (Resumed) (14 Jul 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The amendments were published last Friday.

Seanad: Planning and Development, Maritime and Valuation (Amendment) Bill 2022: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (Resumed) (14 Jul 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will speak to my amendments Nos. 1 and 2. The Minister of State used the word "flexibility". His own speech gives an example of how ambiguous that can be. He has described how he told us he was going to do something and that we should not be surprised by what is being done when it is being done very suddenly and quickly. However, he did not tell us what he was going to do, just that he...

Seanad: Planning and Development, Maritime and Valuation (Amendment) Bill 2022: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (Resumed) (14 Jul 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I apologise. I will skip over that. Since we are only seeing these groups at short notice, we have to anticipate. I will move to amendment No. 13. In effect, this set of amendments addresses the flexibility piece. The Minister of State talked about losing a case and, as there are now limitations on the flexibility we can have, we need to change the law again. It is part of a very...

Seanad: Planning and Development, Maritime and Valuation (Amendment) Bill 2022: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (Resumed) (14 Jul 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The fact the Government has withdrawn, under extreme pressure, one of the problematic amendments is welcome, but it highlights again how incredibly ill-considered the changes are. In the tiny window the public has had to react to this, or since Friday, they have seen the issues with the changes. They regard the proposed changes as an attack on their participation and ability to effect...

Seanad: Planning and Development, Maritime and Valuation (Amendment) Bill 2022: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (Resumed) (14 Jul 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I wish to clarify that it is the chairman of An Bord Pleanála who is a former official in the Department and it is the vice chair who has stepped down. The wider investigation continues.

Seanad: Planning and Development, Maritime and Valuation (Amendment) Bill 2022: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (Resumed) (14 Jul 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: No matter how the Minister of State says it, the Government published the amendments on Friday, so this is the first time we are seeing these proposals in writing. Someone simply saying that he or she aspires to do something in the future is not the same as tabling something. That this is now a maritime Bill as well is just the latest example of that. Amendments Nos. 14 to 21, inclusive,...

Seanad: Planning and Development, Maritime and Valuation (Amendment) Bill 2022: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (Resumed) (14 Jul 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I second the amendment.

Seanad: Planning and Development, Maritime and Valuation (Amendment) Bill 2022: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (Resumed) (14 Jul 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I second the amendment.

Seanad: Planning and Development, Maritime and Valuation (Amendment) Bill 2022: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (Resumed) (14 Jul 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 3: In page 16, to delete lines 31 to 38, to delete pages 17 and 18, and in page 19 to delete lines 1 to 7.

Seanad: Planning and Development, Maritime and Valuation (Amendment) Bill 2022: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (Resumed) (14 Jul 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 4: In page 19, to delete lines 8 to 23.