Results 4,721-4,740 of 8,220 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (17 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Does the Minister have any comment on that engagement on the question of PRSI and PAYE for the undocumented? Is that something she can engage with the Minister, Deputy McEntee, on?

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (17 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I might engage with the Minister further on it.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (17 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 1: In page 6, between lines 31 and 32, to insert the following: “Report on Parent’s Benefit for one-parent families 8. The Minister shall, within nine months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas on the potential extension of entitlement for the full duration of Parent’s Benefit for...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (17 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank the Minister for the response. I concur and think that is important research. I have a follow-up question to clarify the matter of the jobseeker's transitional payment. While it is not the one-parent family payment, it is the payment that many of those parenting alone are on. Does the income disregard policy that the Minister mentioned apply to the jobseeker's transitional payment...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (17 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: On that basis, I can withdraw my amendment.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (17 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 8: In page 16, after line 31, to insert the following: “PART 3 REPORTSReport on pension inequality 24.The Minister shall, within six months of the passing of this Act, lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas to include: (a) an analysis of the impacts of previous changes to contributory requirements for the State Contributory Pension in terms of the...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (17 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I appreciate that and I have read the report. That is why I am concerned as there are lacunae in it. As I said, the elephant in the room relates to other areas of expenditure. Much of what the commission did was calculating how we would pay for this. The very large figure of €2.9 billion is not financially justifiable in the other part of our Exchequer's expenditure and was not...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (17 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 9: In page 16, after line 31, to insert the following: “PART 3 REPORTS Report on one-parent family payment 24. The Minister shall, within six months of the passing of this Act, lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas providing an assessment of how the income disregard in respect of the one-parent family payment intersects with the rising cost of living,...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (17 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 13: In page 16, after line 31, to insert the following: "Report on cost of disability 24.Within six months of the passing of this Act, the Minister shall publish a report outlining proposed actions in response to the findings of the Indecon report on the cost of disability and proposed timelines in respect of such actions.". What are the grounds for ruling out...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (17 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will speak to amendment No. 13 before speaking to the wider section. This amendment seeks a report on a report but it is the mechanism we have when we have concerns relating to reports and we want to know what will happen with them. The Indecon report is very long-awaited and I sit on the committee dealing with disability matters. The Minister is aware that we have been pressing strongly...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (17 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Is this the appropriate point at which to speak to section 24?

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (17 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am a little concerned that some of my other amendments were ruled to be outside the subject matter of the Bill. I will follow up on the matter. It is not an issue for the Acting Chairperson. However, we are talking about the Social Welfare Bill and the matters provided for in social welfare legislation. I know that a couple of the areas I have highlighted are directly provided for in...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (17 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will do that. It is not a concern for the Minister but it is an important point in terms of the operation of work in this House. The issue of bogus self-employment is important. The Minister knows it has been looked at and examined. How do we now look backwards at situations where tests cases may have been used? How can those who may have been affected appeal? I know this is an...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (17 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: While people can use the card, as the Minister acknowledged, it is important that they are not required to. It is also important that the alternative should not be unduly onerous or punitive. People should not feel disadvantaged and feel they are being given a particularly difficult route if they choose not to opt for that route. That is also very clear in the ruling from the Data...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Energy Charter Treaty and Energy Security: Discussion (23 Nov 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I ask Dr. Saheb to comment on what an exit from the Energy Charter Treaty by Europe might look like and the implications for other countries that are parties to the treaty. EU companies still being able to sue would be a potential issue. Would a large-scale exit from the Energy Charter Treaty perhaps lead to either a full renegotiation or-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Aligning Disability Services with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Discussion (Resumed) (25 Nov 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank Mr. O'Regan.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Review of EU Economic Governance Framework: Dr. Dirk Ehnts (1 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank Dr. Ehnts for his presentation. I will pick up where he left off on what he describes as missions. That is about what gets measured in the fiscal process. I gained experience of tracking the EU semester process when I was a civil society advocate and part of the Better Europe Alliance of civil society groups. What we measure is important. I had questions around fiscal rules. Dr....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Review of EU Economic Governance Framework: Dr. Dirk Ehnts (1 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: When we talk about what is measured and resources, it strikes me that, while there is infinite inflexibility in regard to how we approach the monetary aspect, there is a hard resource limit in regard to the planetary boundary limit. There is a shadow cost to carbon, that is, not in the economic sense. Sometimes I wonder whether we try to fit carbon into the economic model rather than...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Review of EU Economic Governance Framework: Dr. Dirk Ehnts (1 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: My final question for now relates to how we spend, which is an ideological point. I refer to the European Commission's policy discussion document on the fiscal rules, which was published in October. Dr. Ehnts questioned what the fiscal rules are based on. There are certain assumptions regarding the role of public investment or lack thereof. The Commission indicates public investment...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Review of EU Economic Governance Framework: Dr. Dirk Ehnts (1 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I guess that the precautionary conditional credit line is a revised version that has been proposed in the European Stability Mechanism legislation in Ireland. Lots of countries just would not qualify for a precautionary conditional credit line. It is almost a safety net that would not work in that regard. I ask Dr. Ehnts to comment on the ECB's asset purchase programme. Also, I ask him...