Results 5,521-5,540 of 8,220 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Developing Ireland's Sustainable Transport System: Discussion (27 Nov 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Regarding Dr. McGrail's composites presentation, I am wondering about public procurement. If we were to see, in terms of either the technical specification or quality criteria for public procurement, a greater emphasis on quality materials and the use of a life cycle costing within procurement, would that make a significant difference from his perspective? Does anyone on the panel wish to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Developing Ireland's Sustainable Transport System: Discussion (27 Nov 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: That is life cycle costing, following through on that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Developing Ireland's Sustainable Transport System: Discussion (27 Nov 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: As we are constrained in terms of time, we may have to revisit some of these issues down the line.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Developing Ireland's Sustainable Transport System: Discussion (27 Nov 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The Department of Health is missing. Its policies very much intersect with a number of these climate policies. I ask all the witnesses, when replying, to talk about the public duty in respect of equality and human rights and how that intersects with their work on climate change. Regarding the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, Ms Hanlon gave some detail in her presentation but...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Developing Ireland's Sustainable Transport System: Discussion (27 Nov 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will let the witnesses answer those questions and I will come back in again to ask my final question.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Developing Ireland's Sustainable Transport System: Discussion (27 Nov 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Fifty-five per cent of women are cycling in other countries, for example, the Netherlands.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Developing Ireland's Sustainable Transport System: Discussion (27 Nov 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Just-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Developing Ireland's Sustainable Transport System: Discussion (27 Nov 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I might ask my other question, for efficiency.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Developing Ireland's Sustainable Transport System: Discussion (27 Nov 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: My question relates to housing and planning. In a previous testimony we heard about the tension between the national development plan and the national planning framework. There is a concern around the emphasis on roads versus, for example, other forms of infrastructure. I have two specific questions. First, in terms of how and where we live and new developments, I refer to the remains of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Developing Ireland's Sustainable Transport System: Discussion (27 Nov 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: There were measures to have rights of way expire in 2021. Is that now being revisited in light of the fact that they could become an effective national network to allow active travel in respect of cycling and walking across rural Ireland?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Developing Ireland's Sustainable Transport System: Discussion (27 Nov 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I have a follow-up question for Mr. Brady. He mentioned the target of 10% renewable energy use by 2020. I do not want to use up time but I would like him to follow up on this, even in writing. What are the hard targets? I am conscious that we have targets in percentages but I wonder whether we have hard targets for the various forms?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Developing Ireland's Sustainable Transport System: Discussion (27 Nov 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: There is a wide network of traditional routes with rights of way, such as cow roads, blackberry-picking roads and little pathways. They would not be vehicle pathways. They are walking pathways and routes through fields. Some of the fields become housing estates. How does one reimagine traditional rights of way - for example, for access to water for cattle - to give people alternative ways...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Developing Ireland's Sustainable Transport System: Discussion (27 Nov 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I asked about increasing frequency. That was the key recommendation from the expert.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Developing Ireland's Sustainable Transport System: Discussion (27 Nov 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: On the carbon tax, the logic used is that it is an economic externality or an externalised cost. We have a carbon tax in order that we can re-internalise the social and environmental costs of fossil fuels. Would it not be consistent for all of the carbon tax and not just the incremental increase, that is the €521 million rather than just the €90 million, to be directed at...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Developing Ireland's Sustainable Transport System: Discussion (27 Nov 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: That was last year and it should be in the region of €520 million this year.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Developing Ireland's Sustainable Transport System: Discussion (27 Nov 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The externality argument would follow through, would it not?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Developing Ireland's Sustainable Transport System: Discussion (27 Nov 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Can I come in briefly?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Developing Ireland's Sustainable Transport System: Discussion (27 Nov 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am not going to ask another question. I just want to make a suggestion. There were two questions that the witnesses did not get a chance to answer.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Developing Ireland's Sustainable Transport System: Discussion (27 Nov 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The first was on e-bikes and the other was about schools, planning and particular measures. If the witnesses could provide a written answer, that would be appreciated.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Nov 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Senators Conway-Walsh and McFadden have already highlighted that we are in the midst of the 16 days of action campaign in the context of violence against women. Violence against women is one of the most corrosive elements across all societies internationally. There is no society in which it is not present. The patterns can be seen almost everywhere. Figures indicate that between one in...