Results 2,341-2,360 of 8,212 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2019: Committee Stage (Resumed) (2 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: If there are existing guidelines, it would be an easy task to include within them clarification about the entitlement to a hard copy and the fact that external advice could be sought. That would go a long way. The Minister has outlined a sample set of inclusions but I do not see anything to contradict the suggestions I have made. The suggestions I have made could naturally be incorporated...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2019: Committee Stage (Resumed) (2 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: No, I will withdraw the amendment but I will probably bring back my other amendment, potentially involving elements of this amendment, about personal progression plans on Report Stage.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2019: Committee Stage (Resumed) (2 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 40:In page 14, after line 7, to insert the following:“10.The Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection shall, within three months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay a report before the Houses of the Oireachtas on fuel poverty, in the context of climate change targets and the “Just Transition” framework, to include a consideration...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2019: Committee Stage (Resumed) (2 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: This relates to amendment No. 43, which is another aspect of that issue to which I will come in a moment. Engaging with the issues of just transition and climate change is not the remit of just one Department. The climate plan is meant to be a whole-of-government, joined-up approach. We should not be in a situation where Ministers throw the issue to each other. The policies and setting...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2019: Committee Stage (Resumed) (2 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I disagree. As the Department has responsibility for social protection and employment, it has more than an income support remit. The Minister is both underplaying her own interest in policy and the Department's role in policy to suggest somehow that it is a policy-less Department, simply providing income. That is inaccurate, to say the least. This is about the achievement of targets that...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2019: Committee Stage (Resumed) (2 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 41:In page 14, after line 7, to insert the following:“10. The Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection shall, for a six month period following the enactment of this Act, suspend any mandatory requirements for use of the Public Services Card or associated single customer view dataset as the only accepted means of identification for the purposes of...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2019: Committee Stage (Resumed) (2 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 42:In page 14, after line 7, to insert the following:“10. The Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection shall, within eight months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before the Houses of the Oireachtas a report on the provision of educational opportunities for people in receipt of social welfare payments, including: (a) an examination of the...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2019: Committee Stage (Resumed) (2 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 43:In page 14, after line 7, to insert the following:“10. The Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection shall, within three months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before the Houses of the Oireachtas a report examining appropriate social protection services and casework supports for workers in industries likely to be scaled down by necessary...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2019: Committee Stage (Resumed) (2 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I recognise there are supports for companies but my particular concern is about supports for individuals within sectors. I am very aware of those supports and I know of companies that have used them successfully. I am concerned about sectors that are scaling down. The Minister has indicated that other jobs may be coming in new industries, which I accept, but the point is we should not be...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2019: Committee Stage (Resumed) (2 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: When I previously asked if persons could access supports in a period, the Minister told me that the Department waits for them to become unemployed. That was at a social protection committee meeting. It is one thing to say there are other opportunities but this is about ensuring we work with people while they are in their current employment. We must consider how such people can access...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2019: Committee Stage (Resumed) (2 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Yes.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2019: Committee Stage (Resumed) (2 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: This is an employment affair.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2019: Committee Stage (Resumed) (2 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It is; it is about security and transition in employment. The two parts were brought together with a view to having a more joined-up approach in how we look at issues of employment and vulnerable workers, for example, as well as social protection. I am glad the Minister is saying there are other jobs in other sectors but I would like to hear from the Minister that there will be sets of...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2019: Committee Stage (Resumed) (2 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am talking about individuals.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2019: Committee Stage (Resumed) (2 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am glad to hear that supports have improved since our previous discussion. It is positive to hear that. I am speaking specifically to how sectors will be treated in a just transition framework. There are companies on one end and individuals with a personal progression plan on the other. There are cohorts of workers in particular sectors, and these should be treated slightly differently...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2019: Committee Stage (Resumed) (2 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: One issue was engagement with landlords through HAP and rent supplement. The other suggestion related to the fuel allowance. I also referred to turbary rights and just transition for workers. Those were four points in respect of which I saw just transition impacting on the Department, or the Department impacting on it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Citizen and Community Measures: Discussion (2 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Many topics have been covered, but I would like to drill down into a couple of matters. The issue of planning has been touched on. I understand the concerns. As we seek to build credibility and public support for sustainable energy measures, it is important to conduct community and environmental impact assessments. We can help social and environmental impact assessments to be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Citizen and Community Measures: Discussion (2 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I accept the point about solar panels-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Citizen and Community Measures: Discussion (2 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: -----but the reversal of order-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Citizen and Community Measures: Discussion (2 Oct 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am conscious that the time available to me is limited. I might put some brief questions to Dr. McGowan and his colleagues because they will not have much time in which to respond. I will begin with a specific question. Is the regulator concerned about grid offers? Is there a point of expiration in a planning process that follows the grid offer? It is a technical question. I...