Results 4,081-4,100 of 8,214 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 29: In page 18, between lines 40 and 41, to insert the following: "(7A) The Advisory Council may issue a formal request to the Minister, asking him or her to exercise his or her powers to revise a carbon budget under this section, where the Council believe that a greater reduction in greenhouse gases has become necessary due to either of the factors specified in...

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Recognising that it is the Minister's right and prerogative to revise a carbon budget, the amendment seeks that the Climate Change Advisory Council would have the power to request the Minister to revise a budget if it is concerned about those factors that can trigger a review, for example, a sudden or radical change in the science or a change in EU law. It is not giving the council the same...

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: While that covers how the targets are being met, it does not provide for a revision of the targets to make them more ambitious, if that is required.

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 32: In page 23, between lines 18 and 19, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 9 of Principal Act 14.Section 9 of the Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (16)— “(16A) For the avoidance of doubt the Advisory Council may not delegate functions to a committee referred to in...

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: This was the exact point at which the debate ended on Committee Stage. Unfortunately, it was only halfway through the Bill. The Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth was responding. There were serious concerns that relate to the original 2015 Act but which are still in this Act whereby some of the safeguards have been put in place did not apply to everybody. The 2015 Act allowed that the...

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I regret that the Minister cannot accept my amendment in terms of the delegation of functions. I urge that attention is paid. It may be a matter to be tracked and carefully monitored and reflected in the report of the advisory council in order that there is clarity that the key decision-making functions are not delegated to subcommittees but are voted at council level and that the powers...

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 33: In page 23, between lines 18 and 19, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 9 of Principal Act 14.Section 9 of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (16), by the deletion of: “, and (b)perform such functions of the Advisory Council as it may, with the consent of the Minister, delegate to the committee.”.”.

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 34: In page 23, between lines 18 and 19, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 10 of Principal Act 14. Section 10 of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (1) by the insertion of “or a committee” after “a member of the Advisory Council”.”.

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 35: In page 26, line 37, after “body” to insert “and the Government of Ireland”.

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I propose that amendment No. 39 be taken separately.

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 39: In page 28, between lines 33 and 34, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 37B of National Oil Reserves Agency Act 2007 20.Section 37B of the National Oil Reserves Agency Act 2007 is amended by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (13): “(13A) The Minister may not provide monies paid out of the Climate Action Fund to...

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: My one-line response to that is that there is an amendment I have not been able to put forward because I did not get to it on Committee Stage. It relates to the cost of dealing with the oil and gas infrastructure of companies that are exiting. It is very important that such costs do not end up coming out of this fund. That is one of the reasons this was important. We should not end up...

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 40: In page 29, to delete lines 5 to 32.

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: This amendment relates to the section of the Bill which is supposed to be the section in which we pull back from fossil fuels and stop issuing licences. I will pull up the relevant pages because this is a matter on which it is useful to have the facts. Unfortunately, the withdrawal is not as clean as it should be. This is because, in saying that new licences will not be issued, a number of...

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (9 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I hate to detract from a very good story but the Bill allows for the granting of petroleum prospecting licences under sections 20(2), 20(3) and 20(4) and for the granting of petroleum leases under sections 20(3) and 20(4). These provisions do not exist in the principal Act and are not existing commitments. They provide for situations where the State can grant new things if there has been...

Seanad: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Second Stage (9 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The Minister of State is hearing from everybody that everybody wants public houses on public land. Like Senator Moynihan, I had wanted a land development agency, or something close to it, for some time but I always believed that, for one to be successful, it would need to be a non-commercial State agency. The delivery of public housing on public land, as described by Senator Warfield,...

Seanad: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (12 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 1: In page 8, line 8, after “provisions” to insert the following: ", which days shall not be before the publication of the final report of the Commission of Investigation into the National Asset Management Agency". This amendment relates to the commencement of the legislation. It suggests it would be advisable if the commencement of the Act were not...

Seanad: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (12 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: There is that possibility, as the commission has sought numerous extensions. That is one of the concerns because everybody wants to see a sea change in the relationship between the State and investors, including speculative property dynamics. It is a concern to many people that many of those whose risk-taking drove the State into great risk and debt and, indeed, into the crash in 2008, seem...

Seanad: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (12 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 2: In page 8, line 11, after “of” to insert “public”. I am conscious that many others have amendments in this grouping. The core of this amendment is "public". We are hearing many references to public land, public use of public land and public building on public land, which is what everybody wants to see. The piece that is certainly up...

Seanad: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (12 Jul 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 3: In page 8, lines 11 and 12, to delete “housing in the State and in particular affordable and” and substitute “public and affordable housing in the State and in particular”. I will move and withdraw the amendment.