Results 3,581-3,600 of 8,212 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Planning and Development, Heritage and Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (24 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 1: In page 10, line 35, after “protected” to insert the following: “and the views of any Minister with heritage responsibility and the Minister for the Environment have been sought”. Unless we do not have time to speak to it there is a similar amendment in respect of section 12. My amendment is very reasonable. Again, this my attempt to...

Seanad: Planning and Development, Heritage and Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (24 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Can I ask for a time check?

Seanad: Planning and Development, Heritage and Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (24 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 2: In page 11, between lines 25 and 26, to insert the following: “12.For the avoidance of doubt, where a Minister of State has delegated responsibilities for heritage, functions under sections 8, 9, 10 and 11shall be performed by or subject to the agreement of that Minister.”. These amendments provide that where there is a Minister of State with...

Seanad: Planning and Development, Heritage and Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (24 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: As the Minister of State outlined, there are imperative reasons of overriding public interest. Bear in mind, the Natura 2000 sites are not generally protected areas. They are the highest quality, most precious areas of biodiversity we have in the State. If a decision was made that basically said we are willing to have damage done to a Natura 2000 site for a reason of public interest, it...

Seanad: Planning and Development, Heritage and Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (24 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 3: In page 11, between lines 26 and 26, to insert the following: “12.Where there is a Minister or Minister of State with delegated responsibility for heritage, the functions under this Act will be performed by, or in consultation with, such a Minister.”.

Seanad: Organisation of Working Time (Reproductive Health Related Leave) Bill 2021: Second Stage (24 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I commend Senator Bacik and the Labour Party on introducing this legislation. I am sure everybody in the House is tired of hearing me talk about the importance of the Irish Women Workers' Union winning the two weeks' holiday for everybody. The Irish Women Workers' Union was founded by many of the women who came out of that revolutionary early...

Seanad: Health and Criminal Justice (Covid-19) (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: There is a number of detailed aspects in each of the four Bills being extended here and each time one of them came through we engaged and put forward amendments. In many cases, there was no chance to debate those amendments. In all cases, there was no acceptance of the amendments, even those that came from Government Senators who spotted flaws in the drafting of the legislation. Given the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Reduction of Carbon Emissions of 51% by 2030: Discussion (Resumed) (25 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I have two sets of questions. I am focusing on some of the narrative in respect of the demand for energy. When I was reading the presentations, I was a little concerned that there is still a lot of reference to reliance on hydrogen. We are looking at a context in which the use of blue hydrogen in particular, may not be an option, because it is ultimately a fossil fuel. In that context, we...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Reduction of Carbon Emissions of 51% by 2030: Discussion (Resumed) (25 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: No, although the data centres remain an elephant in the pie, to mix metaphors, in that it was clear that this is not a substitution but rather is an additional pressure that is coming down.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Reduction of Carbon Emissions of 51% by 2030: Discussion (Resumed) (25 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: There is going to be a question about electricity being generated and electricity being required. I have a concern we may effectively see data centres in competition with other public good needs for which we might need electricity. I wish to signal that is something that needs to be looked at. I understand the IDA will have its imperatives but on this committee, we will need to try to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Reduction of Carbon Emissions of 51% by 2030: Discussion (Resumed) (25 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Yes, so it would be good to know how that is factoring in. If the EAI does have any information, especially on public research, on equivalent projects in other countries, that would be very useful. I have one last question. The EAI representatives have heard from us the focus on batteries and storage. I raise carbon capture. Storage is our key priority because that is what allows us to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Reduction of Carbon Emissions of 51% by 2030: Discussion (Resumed) (25 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Industry might also need to develop at least one pathway that does not involve hydrogen because that is a likely direction and it is important to note in order that we are all prepared for all scenarios. The level of ambition is only rising internationally.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Reduction of Carbon Emissions of 51% by 2030: Discussion (Resumed) (25 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Absolutely.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Reduction of Carbon Emissions of 51% by 2030: Discussion (Resumed) (25 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Like a rainbow.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Reduction of Carbon Emissions of 51% by 2030: Discussion (Resumed) (25 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I have a new question. Mr. Douglas touched on one part of it because I was going to ask about the community projects. I do not know to what extent the association engages with community projects and sustainable energy communities, which are beginning to engage. That is a positive measure. Do the witnesses have a comment on that and on how the association is engaging with those projects or...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Reduction of Carbon Emissions of 51% by 2030: Discussion (Resumed) (25 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Does Mr. Lynott wish to comment on embodied energy? I noticed him nodding as I was asking my question.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Reduction of Carbon Emissions of 51% by 2030: Discussion (Resumed) (25 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I had another question but I did not want to cut across others. Could the witnesses comment briefly on the Energy Charter Treaty? I had a question on that in terms of the situation whereby some companies are entering the renewable electricity market but they have a previous identity. I ask the witnesses to comment on the tensions that have been discussed, for example, in respect of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Reduction of Carbon Emissions of 51% by 2030: Discussion (Resumed) (25 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: We might need to demonstrate a little preference to some technologies. A technology-neutral approach does not always encourage the best innovation. We must look to rewarding new technologies and similarly, with energy options we must look to potentially ring-fencing preferences. There is a hierarchy.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Reduction of Carbon Emissions of 51% by 2030: Discussion (Resumed) (25 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: We may need to squeeze the industry on that 30% assumption and the policy choice. Maybe it will be about industry innovating faster if we go to 5%, 10% or zero from 30%. It is likely we will need to squeeze industry on that. It could be squeezed on the demand side or in terms of innovation. I hope it can happen with storage on the supply side. I would not think it is a safe assumption...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Reduction of Carbon Emissions of 51% by 2030: Discussion (Resumed) (25 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Some very interesting research was mentioned by the witnesses and colleagues would love to see it if it could be forwarded to the committee.