Results 4,781-4,800 of 8,482 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Remuneration of Senior Civil Servants: Discussion (2 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Are actual individuals looked at or are they hypothetical individuals? Are they amalgamated case studies?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Remuneration of Senior Civil Servants: Discussion (2 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It sounds as if it is based on specific people.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I join Senators in commending the project in Meath and other environmental initiatives being taken by companies around the country. With regard to the €800 million which Ireland will receive from Europe for recovery and resilience, the focus of which is on green projects and digitalisation programmes, Ireland is quite unusual in having gone directly to Europe. European Commission...

Seanad: Maritime Jurisdiction Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 1: In page 6, lines 8 and 9, to delete “the text of Parts II, V and VI of which is set out in Schedule 1” and substitute “Schedule 1 contains the text of Parts II, V and VI of the Convention”. I tabled my amendment because I am concerned there could be a perception that the impact and remit of this Bill and the jurisdiction and...

Seanad: Maritime Jurisdiction Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I understand that the Government might not be in a position to accept the amendment today but would ask it to revert to the Parliamentary Counsel on it in the context of future-proofing the legislation. There are other conventions, including for example, the convention on biodiversity which is likely, when it is negotiated in November, to have a very strong marine component. Indeed, that is...

Seanad: Maritime Jurisdiction Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 2: In page 6, lines 22 and 23, to delete “for” in line 22 down to and including line 23 and substitute the following: “being used in connection with the operations including activities servicing the operations of the installation at the time;” This amendment is a slight expansion of some of what was talked about in terms of the...

Seanad: Maritime Jurisdiction Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: That is regrettable because some of the impacts of offshore drilling and exploration, for example, have been felt at some distance from the installations themselves but are very much related or connected to the same companies that own the installations involved. In that context, I will have to press my amendment.

Seanad: Maritime Jurisdiction Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 3: In page 7, line 13, after “21” to insert “sitting”. This amendment relates to the question of the laying of orders before the Houses of the Oireachtas and specifies that it should be done on sitting days. Regulations in this area are really important. This may be a somewhat technical issue but the period of time in which the House may...

Seanad: Maritime Jurisdiction Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I ask the Minister of State to respond in respect of the very practical suggestion put forward by Senator Ward regarding a notification to the Houses. There has been considerable concern around a number of aspects of environmental regulations not being caught and dealt with early enough. In that context, the Minister of State might indicate whether he is happy to give us notification of any...

Seanad: Maritime Jurisdiction Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will withdraw the amendment for now but ask that the Minister of State comes back to us, before the Bill goes before the Dáil, to satisfy us that there will be a notification process.

Seanad: Maritime Jurisdiction Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 4: In page 9, line 24, to delete “2014.” and substitute the following: “2014, (f) any relevant provision on offences in national legislation giving effect to Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds or Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of...

Seanad: Maritime Jurisdiction Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I have the same concern as that articulated by Senator Ward. I checked with the officials in that regard. This would potentially make it easier by clarifying that this is not a concern or obstacle in that regard. It is a useful addition, but there may be other points in the Bill where reference to that directive might be made if we are looking for consolidating legislation that updates...

Seanad: Maritime Jurisdiction Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 5: In page 10, line 19, after “exploitation,” to insert “restoration,” In listing the kinds of activities in which jurisdictional activity might be taken, "exploitation", which may be a legacy of our relationship with the sea, and "conservation" are both mentioned in the legislation. I seek to insert the word "restoration". In that...

Seanad: Maritime Jurisdiction Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Does the Minister of State believe that there is sufficient scope to address the restoration issues of the marine environment under the scope of management?

Seanad: Maritime Jurisdiction Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I note that there are jurisdictional rights of the State in terms of the exclusive economic zone. Some provisions of this Bill go somewhat wider than that but I am happy to engage with the Minister of State on this matter. Section 14(b)(iii) provides for "the protection and preservation of the marine environment" but restoration is not named and that is why I seek an interpretative...

Seanad: Maritime Jurisdiction Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: That is fine. I note that this may be one of the areas of law that we will need to open up in respect of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.

Seanad: Maritime Jurisdiction Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 6: In page 10, line 32, after “the” where it firstly occurs to insert “restoration,”.

Seanad: Maritime Jurisdiction Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 7: In page 11, line 6, to delete “and” and substitute “or”. My first few amendments are concerned with interpretation, and it may be the same issue throughout. The wording of the section is due to the language being mapped from the convention. However, the convention dates back to the 1980s and we have had a body of interpretation on...

Seanad: Maritime Jurisdiction Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The key point is that it is not a matter of banning scientific research but rather of making it clear that if, in the course of scientific research, an offence is committed, it should constitute an offence. That would be reasonable and people would expect it in that regard. I am somewhat more concerned by the narrow framing of the interpretation. When the Minister of State brings this to...

Seanad: Maritime Jurisdiction Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 8: In page 11, line 6, after "the" where it secondly occurs to insert "living or". I realise that in all of this we are constrained by the mirroring of the language of the convention. All of these amendments seek to adjust the language. Conventions are living documents and we can add layers to them. We certainly should not be failing to achieve our goals under...