Results 4,001-4,020 of 8,482 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (16 Nov 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Do I speak to the amendments to the section now? I can come back in. The Minister can reply to the amendment and then I will speak to the section.

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (16 Nov 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: That is fine.

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (16 Nov 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 34: In page 10, to delete lines 24 to 27. This amendment cuts to one of the problems with this section. The concern of amendment No. 34 is the deletion of the new subsection (15) which it is proposed to insert into section 50A of the principal Act. I am concerned that the language in this section is inappropriate. I will speak to subsection 15 and then outline my...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (16 Nov 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Is the intention to create a dynamic whereby it becomes prohibitively expensive for applicants? If they lose in the High Court, they may be told that they cannot go to the Court of Appeal, but they must go because the other party, against whom a judicial review is being sought, may say that it wants to take it to the Supreme Court. Taking it to the Supreme Court, of course, comes with...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (16 Nov 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will echo the questions put by Senator Warfield. What projects are involved? This change does not only apply to residential developments but allows for all kinds of judicial reviews to be pushed directly from the High Court to the Supreme Court. If there is a judicial review, a process that is currently being reviewed, the appropriate place to deal with the matter is in the review of...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (16 Nov 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The section just does not stand up. There is not so great a backlog of judicial reviews in the Court of Appeal that we cannot wait one year to deal with judicial review properly through legislation. We do not need immediately to get the Court of Appeal out of the way in regard to judicial reviews. This is not housing specific; it relates to judicial reviews in general. There are many...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (16 Nov 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Looking at the amendment, it is good to see references to owner-occupiers, as long as that is additional to social housing. The Minister has been clear that this is an addition to Part V. I, of course, reserve the right to amend this new amended section on Report Stage but it is positive to be referencing owner-occupiers. There is a question of carrot or stick involved here. I understand...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (16 Nov 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 36: In page 15, to delete lines 10 to 28.

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (16 Nov 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 37: In page 15, to delete lines 29 to 32.

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (16 Nov 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The Minister acknowledged the flaws in the SHD system. He has stated that this is a better system. This is about ensuring we move to a new system as soon and as expeditiously as possible, with all the benefits of better planning that might bring, but also ensuring that applications in the pre-planning process are rerouted into the new large-scale residential development process. It just...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (16 Nov 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 40: In page 17, between lines 8 and 9, to insert the following: “Report on vacant units in LRD development 17.The Minister shall, within 18 months of the passing of this Act, lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas outlining the number of completed housing units under the LRD process which remain vacant.”. This amendment and amendment No....

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (16 Nov 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: With regard to amendment No. 41, I am getting a signal from the Minister that he is willing to engage between now and Report Stage. That would be useful. Those data are crucial, whether they are put in a report laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas or before the Oireachtas joint committee. There is a piece the Minister did not address but he said there was no problem in providing...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (16 Nov 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 41: In page 17, between lines 8 and 9, to insert the following: “Report on the operation of the provisions of this Act 17. The Minister shall, within 12 months of the passing of this Act, lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas outlining— (a) the proportion of sites, expressed as a percentage, which have been granted LRD planning permission...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (16 Nov 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 42: In page 17, between lines 8 and 9, to insert the following: “Further transitional measures 17. (1) Where an application under section 16 in respect of the Act of 2016 is proceeded with and planning permission has been granted, such planning permission shall be revoked 12 months after it has been granted in respect of scenarios where construction of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets and Climate Action Plan: Engagement with Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications (16 Nov 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The Minister opened by mentioning the question of the carbon budgets. We should be front-loading more action into the first carbon budget. We do not have the balance right. For any of us in politics, the moment we are there in a room and able to act is the moment to do so. On page 23 of the action plan, there is a reference to the sequestration potential of trees. The latter will only...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets and Climate Action Plan: Engagement with Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications (16 Nov 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Will Ireland champion and promote a loss-and-damage facility, as was called for by 136 countries and blocked by the EU and a number of others in Glasgow? Will we be using this year to ensure that the EU and others support such a facility at the next COP?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets and Climate Action Plan: Engagement with Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications (16 Nov 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It is for schools and hospitals, rather than directly funding retrofitting. Some €49 million is going to banks to give loans, rather than, for example, rooting that into direct retrofitting of schools and hospitals. Why should they be taking loans with the profit share that gets added to that? That is not economically efficient for us.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets and Climate Action Plan: Engagement with Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications (16 Nov 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: That is not my question. My question is why are the environmental aspects being done through private loan systems and off-balance sheet loans, rather than through direct public investment in retrofitting our infrastructure, which will, as the Minister said, pay dividends in the long term for the State, when we currently have access to 0% finance directly?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets and Climate Action Plan: Engagement with Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications (16 Nov 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: But we are paying for that risk reduction.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets and Climate Action Plan: Engagement with Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications (16 Nov 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Apologies. The key is that we are paying for de-risking. Why are we paying €49 million?