Results 3,521-3,540 of 8,212 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Personal Insolvency (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (23 Apr 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 4: In page 3, between lines 18 and 19, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 26 of Principal Act 2.Section 26 of the Principal Act is amended— (a) in subsection (2)(c), by the substitution of “€1,500” for “€400”, and (b) in subsection (5)(b)(ii), by the insertion of the following after “child...

Seanad: Personal Insolvency (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (23 Apr 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 5: In page 3, between lines 18 and 19, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 26 of Principal Act 2.Section 26 of the Principal Act is amended— (a) in subsection (2)(c), by the substitution of “€1,500” for “€400”, and (b) in subsection (5)(b)(ii), by the insertion of the following after “child...

Seanad: Personal Insolvency (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (23 Apr 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 6: In page 3, between lines 18 and 19, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 26 of Principal Act 2.Section 26 of the Principal Act is amended— (a) in subsection (2)(c), by the substitution of “€1,500” for “€400”, and (b) in subsection (5)(b)(ii), by the insertion of “, and the working family...

Seanad: Personal Insolvency (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (23 Apr 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: When we talk about creditors it is important to remember that not all creditors are necessarily big banking institutions. Creditors are sometimes businesses, service providers, subcontractors and workers who have been impacted.It is important. I support the concept of a "confirmation of truth", which is being introduced in section 11 of this Bill. It is reasonable that instead of a...

Seanad: Personal Insolvency (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (23 Apr 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 8: In page 10, between lines 7 and 8, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 99 of Principal Act 14.Section 99 of the Principal Act is amended— (a) in subsection (2)(b), by the insertion of “in respect of secured debts less than €2,000,000” after “Personal Insolvency Arrangement”, and (b) in subsection 2,...

Seanad: Personal Insolvency (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (23 Apr 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: On one level, I agree with the Minister of State that the real concern is bankruptcy. I will be frank in saying that I believe our bankruptcy legislation is too lax for those with very large-scale debts, although not for the majority. I find it difficult to understand situations where people who declare bankruptcy are, a few years later, engaged in multimillion euro property deals and...

Seanad: Personal Insolvency (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (23 Apr 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 9: In page 11, between lines 7 and 8, to insert the following: "(e) may only be made in respect of debt not exceeding €1,000,000.". The Bill provides for a confirmation-of-truth mechanism. The confirmation of truth is a little more than a declaration you simply write yourself. At least, it has some consequence if you do not write it. The...

Seanad: Personal Insolvency (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (23 Apr 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Briefly, to be clear, this is not to say that persons with a certain level of debt are dishonest. That would be a wrongful inference for the Minister of State to make. It is to say that where there is a debt of over €1 million it is a significant debt. There are those who are owed up to €1 million so, given the significance of the amount involved, it is appropriate that there...

Seanad: Personal Insolvency (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (23 Apr 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Yes.

Seanad: Personal Insolvency (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (23 Apr 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 10: In page 11, between lines 25 and 26, to insert the following: “Report to Oireachtas 18. Within 12 months of the passing of this Act, the Minister shall prepare and lay before each House of the Oireachtas a report to include a comparison of the methodology, calculation and application of— (a) the guidelines on Reasonable Living Expenses as developed...

Seanad: Personal Insolvency (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (23 Apr 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am delighted to hear of that engagement and not surprised because I see many of the same principles reflected. The concern is not the impact of the minimum essential standards of living in respect of the ISI's calculations, but in the other direction - not on the Vincentian partnership but in respect of our social protection system. There is a conversation I am hoping to start and I am...

Seanad: Personal Insolvency (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (23 Apr 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: That is absolutely fine.

Seanad: Personal Insolvency (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (23 Apr 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 11: In page 11, between lines 25 and 26, to insert the following: “Report to Oireachtas on secured debt 18.Within 12 months of the passing of this Act, the Minister shall prepare and lay before each House of the Oireachtas a report to include statistical analysis of: (a) the use of the Principal Act in respect of secured debt; (b) the extent to which it has...

Seanad: Personal Insolvency (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (23 Apr 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am happy with the Minister of State's reply but it is important that we have a sense of this. It is not personally identifying information. It is literally a question of how many people are using this legislation to deal with debt of over €1 million or €2 million. Do 40% of cases relate to small debt or do 70% of cases involve debt of more than €2 million? I doubt...

Seanad: Future of Gambling Regulation: Statements (23 Apr 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will start by addressing the question of the horse racing industry and, particularly, the greyhound racing industry.While we are not a party, the Civil Engagement Group has been active in challenging some of the practices related to the funding of that industry and the animal welfare issues in the industry. Some have been addressed by rehoming but there are substantial issues with...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Increasing Wind Power on the National Grid: Discussion (27 Apr 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: There is an acknowledgment that there has been an improvement and engagement, but in reinventing engagement it is important to be clear that it is not accompanied by reinventing the planning process. It seems there have been better outcomes from better engagement by the industry, and that should allow it to navigate the planning process rather than being in any sense seen as a substitute for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Increasing Wind Power on the National Grid: Discussion (27 Apr 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank the witnesses for their presentations and supplementary materials. I have a few practical questions. We have heard that projects of common interest in the EU would have preferential access to the grid. Is that the witnesses' understanding? What measures will ensure that renewable energy will have preferential access? I am concerned about the context of the four options. I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Increasing Wind Power on the National Grid: Discussion (27 Apr 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The actual ecosystem was a key part of my question in terms of marine protected areas. Not just the most economic solution, but the most environmentally sound solutions.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Increasing Wind Power on the National Grid: Discussion (27 Apr 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Could we just note that there were some questions that did not get answered? Maybe we could get written supplementary-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Reduction of Carbon Emissions of 51% by 2030: Discussion (4 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank all our witnesses and I apologise for the printing sounds in the background. I was listening to the pieces and had an idea in my head from the novel The Dispossessedwhere a person was returning to a dry planet hoping for just a picture of an animal. The natural diversity that we have is such an incredible and miraculous thing. What strikes me is the case that has been made about...