Results 3,501-3,520 of 8,212 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The Minister said these are high-level principles. Surely if high-level principles are revoked or modified, it merits the same kind of process and scrutiny given that Ministers change. We do not want to have lots of debate and discussion around what those high-level principles should be in terms of marine policy planning, be it the precautionary principle, and then for that policy statement...

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: What about the Oireachtas?

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: As I understand it, the approval of the Oireachtas is required regarding a marine planning policy statement so, again, there is a difference between being able to give a submission as a member of the public and having that agreement between the Parliament and the Executive. Could the Minister of State provide some clarification? I believe it is the case that the approval of the Oireachtas...

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 13: In page 25, line 9, to delete “four weeks” and substitute “sixteen weeks”.

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 18: In page 25, between lines 37 and 38, to insert the following: “(9) Subsections (5), (6), (7) and (8)shall, with all necessary modifications, apply to an amendment made to or a revocation of a Ministerial Guidelines issued under this section as those subsections apply to Ministerial Guidelines issued under this section.”.

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 19: In page 26, between lines 3 and 4, to insert the following: “(3) The Minister shall ensure any new policy directives, or revocation or amendment of policy directives made under this section, shall first be subject to a screening determination for both Strategic Environmental Assessment and Appropriate Assessment, and such assessments shall be...

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will withdraw it but may follow up with the Minister of State directly on the matter.

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 21: In page 27, to delete lines 27 to 36. I am open to clarification on this. I had a concern that, where approvals were granted for applications before new subsections were in place, some such approvals may have been granted under previous regimes which did not have many of the considerations we are putting into place in this regime. I understand there is a desire to...

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will not press the amendment but suggest it is important there might need to be a review of some of them. I appreciate we do not want approvals falling off a cliff but we also might need to ensure, as part of that engagement with local authorities we have discussed at other points, that there is a review. Something that might have responded to a need identified by a local authority now...

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 22: In page 29, between lines 8 and 9, to insert the following: “(b) to contribute to the preservation, protection and improvement of the environment, including resilience to climate change impacts,”. There is a real omission here. I do not really understand why these factors are not reflected in the objectives of marine spatial plans. I propose...

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Again, I would note the subtle difference between maritime activities and maritime usages. The Minister of State read from the directive itself and maritime activity is a bit different from maritime usages. I appreciate his engagement on this and his good faith on the matter but I will press this amendment because it is important to put down a marker. Again, I thank the Minister of State...

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 25: In page 29, line 34, after “Articles” to insert “7, 8, 9,” Again, I was just trying things down with regard to Articles 7, 8 and 9 of the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive but we have had a good engagement on that matter and in that context, I will withdraw amendment No. 25.

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: This is the question of the review which we discussed earlier. Six years is too far away for a review. The Minister of State indicated, and maybe he will confirm, that his intention is to have a review within two years. This amendment is saying that, ideally, it should be sooner than two years and it should be as soon as possible. This is the precautionary principle and the idea that...

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am not going to move amendments Nos. 27 or 28.

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: They are grouped.

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will address a couple of the other amendments so. In terms of the amendment which the Minister of State has replied to, there is one aspect which I neglected to mention and which it would be useful to get a response to. There has been a concern about whether there was adequate and robust sensitivity mapping in the development of the current NMPF. If I was satisfied that that had been...

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I appreciate that these will be part of the marine protected areas but my concern is about the marine planning framework, especially with regard to annual or biannual migration patterns. They will not wait for the marine protected areas to be declared. Migration patterns cannot be damaged or disrupted. It is one of those areas where that kind of interim measure of protection is a concern....