Results 3,621-3,640 of 8,212 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (28 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It has been brought to my attention there is an amendment in the group which I have not spoken to. Amendment No. 17 is eminently sensible and I hope it would happen anyway. It proposes that in performing functions under the Act, housing authorities would have regard to the appropriateness of the location of dwellings in terms of facilitating access to public transport, education services,...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (28 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: No. That is the next amendment. We are on amendment No. 11.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (28 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 11: In page 8, line 25, after “in” to insert “owner-occupier”. I accept that the Minister of State seems to have reassured me but I reserve the right to retable the amendment on Report Stage. If it is possible, I ask the Minister of State to send me a short note to allay my concerns in that regard. In that context, I am happy to withdraw...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (28 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 12: In page 8, line 26, after “and” to insert the following: "support the long-term sustainability of diverse communities, including the intergenerational sustainability of urban communities, and". I thank the Minister of State and colleagues across the House who have recognised the importance of sustainability and diversity. There is a common...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (28 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will be brief. I agree with many of Senator Casey's points. A review of the national development plan has been completed, but the national planning framework has not been reviewed. Now all of the new local development plans are being constrained by a planning framework, which is out of sync with our national development plan. There is a disjoin there. As a starting point, I underline...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (31 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I join in welcoming the motion on annexation. It sends an important signal in recognising some of the reality of what is happening in the occupied territories of Palestine. There is more that we can do but the motion is an important step. I join in the calls for a debate on disarmament that Senator Martin mentioned because Ireland has played a key role in that regard.In a moment when we...

Seanad: Maritime Jurisdiction Bill 2021: Second Stage (31 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I join others in welcoming the Minister of State to the House and regretting we have not had pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill because it is very important. There is nothing technical about this. It consolidates a large amount of legislation. In the Minister of State's speech, we heard a lot about the 1980s legislation and various elements being brought together from it. We are in a...

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Act 2021: Motion (31 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I welcome the Minister. We are debating the resolution. I thank the Minister because this week he will accept limiting some of the powers because resolution is not the ideal way to extend legislation. I am conscious that this is for a limited period until July. With regard to mandatory hotel quarantine, the Minister outlined the important impact it has already had. We can see the number...

Seanad: Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (31 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The Minister is again welcome to the House. I join others in commending all those people who have done really important and extraordinary work in rolling out vaccines. However, in hearing everybody's stories about how wonderful it has been to get a vaccine and what it meant for children and families, there is a heartbreaking component to the discussion. It is that there are people all over...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (31 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will be brief as my colleague, Senator Ruane, has already spoken on this amendment. This is a safety measure which I am sure the Minister has already assured my colleague on. The aim of the amendment is to make it very clear that nothing in this section should be to the detriment of obligations on housing authorities in respect of social housing. There is a concern here because we often...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (31 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Yes.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (31 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 17: In page 8, between lines 32 and 33, to insert the following: “(7) In performing functions under subsection (1)housing authorities shall have regard to the appropriateness of the location of dwellings in respect of facilitating access to public transport, education services, health services and public amenities.”.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (31 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I accepted the argument from the Minister of State that some of this relates to the planning area. I reserve the right to bring back a version of this amendment but I accept the Minister of State's argument in respect of it. I hope that by Report Stage, when we will reintroduce amendment No. 15 in the name of Senator Fitzpatrick, we will have provided the local authorities or housing...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (31 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 19: In page 9, between lines 13 and 14, to insert the following: “(3) A housing authority or a planning authority may only enter into an agreement undersubsection (2) where the dwellings specified in the agreement meet such criteria of affordability as may be set out in regulations developed by the Minister and laid before, and agreed by, both Houses of the...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (31 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: This suite of amendments relates to the principle of affordability. It is an issue that was touched on earlier. There is a concern that there is no clear definition of affordability in respect of this Bill and no such definition ties itself to people and what they can afford. I remember similar debates about the minimum wage legislation when the Low Pay Commission legislation was going...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (31 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I ask the Minister of State to respond explicitly on amendment No. 19 because none of what he has outlined is at odds with that amendment. It simply provides that the Minister would lay the rules before the Houses of the Oireachtas. I accept that amendment No. 20 sets out a criteria and one that I think is important but amendment No. 19 does not set out any specific criteria. It allows for...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (31 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Yes.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (31 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 20: In page 9, between lines 13 and 14, to insert the following: “(3) A housing authority or a planning authority may only enter into an agreement under subsection (2) where the dwellings specified in the agreement meet such criteria of affordability, to include a criteria that any such dwellings should be affordable to individuals on or below the national...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (31 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 21: In page 9, between lines 13 and 14, to insert the following: “(3) Notwithstanding any national regulations which may be set out, a housing authority may specify such additional criteria in respect of the determination of affordability as it believes appropriate before entering into an agreement under subsection (2).”. I reserve the right to...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (31 May 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 23: In page 9, line 22, after “priority” to insert “and the eligible applicants will be owner occupiers”.