Results 3,121-3,140 of 3,484 for speaker:Emer Higgins

Seanad: Nithe i dTosach Suíonna - Commencement Matters: National Advocacy Service (9 Jul 2024)

Emer Higgins: -----but that all were rejected.

Seanad: Nithe i dTosach Suíonna - Commencement Matters: National Advocacy Service (9 Jul 2024)

Emer Higgins: Offers included measures to immediately address pay divergences with NAS, an immediate pay increase for all NAS employees, and an independent assessment to establish the grades within CIS to which the NAS staff would be benchmarked. Significantly, the immediate pay increase for staff went beyond the Labour Court's recommendations, which was limited, as the Senator has said earlier, to four...

Seanad: Nithe i dTosach Suíonna - Commencement Matters: International Protection (9 Jul 2024)

Emer Higgins: Ireland and many other European countries are experiencing a significant increase in people seeking international protection. The arrival numbers remain significantly elevated. In the first 26 weeks of this year, more than 10,000 people have arrived in Ireland seeking accommodation from the State, averaging 386 people per week. This is more than five times the average from 2017 to 2019....

Double Taxation Relief (Taxes on Income) (Sultanate of Oman) Order 2024: Motion (9 Jul 2024)

Emer Higgins: I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the following Order in draft: Double Taxation Relief (Taxes on Income) (Sultanate of Oman) Order 2024, a copy of which was laid before Dáil Éireann on 19th June, 2024.

Double Taxation Relief (Taxes on Income) (Jersey) Order 2024: Motion (9 Jul 2024)

Emer Higgins: I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the following Order in draft: Double Taxation Relief (Taxes on Income) (Jersey) Order 2024, a copy of which was laid before Dáil Éireann on 19th June, 2024.

Reappointment of Member of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission: Motion (9 Jul 2024)

Emer Higgins: I move: That Dáil Éireann, noting that the Government on 2nd July, 2024, nominated Emily Logan for reappointment by the President as a member of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, recommends, pursuant to section 65(1)(b) of the Garda Síochána Act 2005, that she be reappointed by the President to be a member of the Commission.

Appointment of An tOmbudsman Póilíneachta: Motion (9 Jul 2024)

Emer Higgins: I move: That Dáil Éireann, noting that the Government on 2nd July, 2024, nominated Emily Logan for appointment by the President as An tOmbudsman Póilíneachta, recommends, pursuant to section 171(3)(b) of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024, that she be appointed by the President as An tOmbudsman Póilíneachta.

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Wastewater Treatment (9 Jul 2024)

Emer Higgins: I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, who would like to thank the Deputy for raising this important issue and providing an opportunity to address the matter. As he knows, a small number of estates rely on developer-provided water services infrastructure, commonly referred to as DPI, for their water services. They mainly consist of wastewater...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Wastewater Treatment (9 Jul 2024)

Emer Higgins: I thank the Deputy, on behalf of the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, for his comments and his commitment to resolving these legacy issues with facilities built by developers to provide water services in housing estates. I acknowledge the hard work and the efforts of the engineers listed by the Deputy. The Minister introduced the multi-annual developer-provided water services infrastructure...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Pension Provisions (9 Jul 2024)

Emer Higgins: I thank Deputy O'Sullivan for raising this issue today, which I will take on behalf of the Minister for Health. As the Deputy has outlined, on 10 March 2020, the Department of Health informed the HSE that, following engagement with the then Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, approval was given under section 52(4) of the Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions)...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Pension Provisions (9 Jul 2024)

Emer Higgins: To be clear, the temporary blanket waiver of pension abatement continued up until 31 March 2021. This was when the abatement policy for the healthcare sector returned to normal in line with other sectors. This was, as I understand it, communicated to the HSE on 15 January 2021. On 22 January 2021, only a few days later, I am informed that the HSE informed all relevant staff, including, but...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Mental Health Services (9 Jul 2024)

Emer Higgins: I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of the Minister for Health. I thank the Deputy for his support for this Government initiative. The development of a CAST, a multiagency initiative proposed for Limerick city, was a recommendation of the final report of the high-level task force, HLTF, on mental health and addiction challenges of those who come into contact with the criminal justice...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Mental Health Services (9 Jul 2024)

Emer Higgins: The Deputy referenced 2022 in his opening contribution and the report of the high-level task force was published in 2022. Progress is happening. Posts have been approved. Additional progress happened just yesterday. That underscores this Government's commitment to make this pilot happen. I have given him the target date of the fourth quarter of 2024. From a HSE mid-west perspective,...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Industrial Relations (11 Jul 2024)

Emer Higgins: I am aware of the Respect at Work campaign, which is seeking new protections for workers wishing to organise in their workplaces. These proposals will be considered in the context of Ireland’s publication of an action plan to promote collective bargaining, as required by the EU directive on adequate minimum wages. Article 4 of the directive, promotion of collective bargaining on...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Industrial Relations (11 Jul 2024)

Emer Higgins: The Respect at Work campaign has six recommendations seeking new protections for workers seeking to organise in workplaces. These proposals are being discussed and will be considered in the context of the action plan to promote collective bargaining. These discussions are ongoing and are happening at the moment. They were discussed at a meeting of officials in the technical working group...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Industrial Relations (11 Jul 2024)

Emer Higgins: The Government is absolutely committed to protecting workers. The Doherty report, which we commissioned, is our path towards doing that. We got a progress report on it only this week and work is under way on its recommendations. That is agreed at this point as the review mechanism we are looking at to improve workers' rights. So far, only last month on 17 June, the Labour Court confirmed...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Business Supports (11 Jul 2024)

Emer Higgins: The Government is absolutely committed to taking a holistic approach to rejuvenating Dublin city centre. We appointed a task force on 7 May 2024 to help the city centre to thrive as an attractive and safe city. Led by the Department of the Taoiseach, the task force held its first meeting on 21 May and has been asked to deliver its recommendations for consideration by the Government within...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Business Supports (11 Jul 2024)

Emer Higgins: The Deputy is right that the initiatives he referred to are all really positive. Investing in the old Ambassador Theatre building and reopening the Iveagh Markets would be really beneficial to Dublin. Those are the kinds of projects the task force is considering. The task force has already met. It has 12 weeks to report to the Government. When we receive the report, we certainly will...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Business Supports (11 Jul 2024)

Emer Higgins: The Minister, Deputy Burke, chairs a hospitality and tourism forum that looks at a lot of the issues the Deputy has raised such as access outside working hours to hospitality, including cafés, and the importance of having a vibrant night-time economy. The Minister co-chairs the forum with the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin. That initiative shows the level of cross-departmental...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Low Pay (11 Jul 2024)

Emer Higgins: As the Deputy will be aware, the Low Pay Commission was asked in 2022 to examine the issues around retaining or removing the sub-minimum youth rates of the national minimum wage and to make recommendations on the matter. The Low Pay Commission asked the ESRI to conduct background research on the issue under the terms of the Low Pay Commission and ESRI partnership agreement. This ESRI report...