Results 1-20 of 8,468 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (10 Jul 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: To add a comment to the other topics, in relation to the electricity connections, we need to talk a little bit about data centres given the rolling cuts we all saw yesterday and the fact we have had a massive escalation in energy and electricity demand from it, over 200% of an increase. It is an elephant in the room and it needs to be addressed. Even in Portlaoise, where there is apparently...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2025: Second Stage (10 Jul 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I have a number of key concerns on the Bill and the context in which they sit. I feel there is also an element of us having been here before in the shocking announcement that was just made of the intention to add last-minute major and substantial amendments, changes in our planning laws put in at the very last minute just before a recess, and to ram it through without proper democratic...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2025: Second Stage (10 Jul 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Speculation is rewarded by this Government and that is not what delivers houses. This is the same mistakes again and again from the same false principle. It is a disservice to the public.

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2025: Second Stage (10 Jul 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I have gone on but I will say we are being denied time to properly address this, with this poor democratic practice of bringing in this bad proposal at the last minute. By the way, it will require fire safety and health certificates and will delay planning permission that is ready to go. All of those processes around fire and health certificates will have to be done. We are actually...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2025: Second Stage (10 Jul 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: A Chathaoirligh, I was misquoted. I said that was the case in some instances. For clarity.

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2025: Second Stage (10 Jul 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: A Chathaoirligh, if something is being asked to be withdrawn, I will have to ask-----

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2025: Second Stage (10 Jul 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I have been directly challenged and asked to withdraw a comment.

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2025: Second Stage (10 Jul 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: To be very clear, what I said was that it was 40% and it was in some instances, whereas the Senator has twice now - if he examines the transcript, he will see what is correct-----

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2025: Second Stage (10 Jul 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Yes, and at that point, I would like Senator Blaney to withdraw his remarks.

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2025: Second Stage (10 Jul 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I look forward to Senator Blaney withdrawing his comments at that point.

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2025: Second Stage (10 Jul 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am sorry, I am not going to be misrepresented.

Seanad: Pregnancy Loss (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025: Second Stage (9 Jul 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I join others in commending a very good and necessary Bill, as has been said. It is very good and well drafted legislation, with real nuance and sensitivity in how it approaches the issues, and goes through the kinds of policy points highlighted by groups and academics and addresses every concern section by section and line by line. I know it may seem kind of cold to go to the quality of...

Seanad: EU Regulations: Motions (3 Jul 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I share the concern many have expressed about the proposals before us. I echo what we have heard across the House about recognising migration as something that has happened for centuries and millennia and something that is often a net positive for countries. Ireland, with its history of migration in different economic and political circumstances, circumstances of conflict and so on, as well...

Seanad: EU Regulations: Motions (3 Jul 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Let us be clear, however; I do not believe we should join it at all. Let us look at what was in that proposal that has been withdrawn, which comes from the same kind of logic in terms of safe countries. It comes from the same kind of perspective, which is a neocolonial perspective and a colonial perspective in terms of determining or arbitrating the lives of others. The change would mean...

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Jul 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: To pick up on the issue of the mandate, we focused a lot on Russia and Ukraine. I was very struck by the number of missions in Africa, including Mali, Niger, Mozambique and the Sahel region. This is a large number of military actions taken by Europe. We were told that the language in the proposed legislation is directly taken from the Lisbon treaty, which talks about conflict prevention...

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Jul 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Would Ireland be better positioned to do that if we maintained our UN position? Do "interests" potentially include commercial and economic interests?

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Jul 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: In the 1950s when there was a deployment under the "uniting for peace" resolution, it did not require the Security Council to agree to it. The General Assembly can authorise an international force. Can we have that confirmed? For example, it has been mentioned in relation to a potential force for the delivery of humanitarian aid. It has a higher bar - but is a potential one because it...

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Jul 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I was in the Seanad and missed some of the debate. On Tuesday, retired Major General Maureen O'Brien spoke about the fact that while there are occasions where peacekeeping missions have ended up becoming engaged in armed conflict, it is much harder to move from a situation of military conflict or armed deployment to peacekeeping than the other way around. This comes to a key point. When...

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Jul 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: They have a very different focus.

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Jul 2025)

Alice-Mary Higgins: My time is limited. I sit on the finance committee. We are currently looking at extraordinarily large requests and proposals in terms of EU spending on the SAFE regulation and military spending.