Results 4,741-4,760 of 8,220 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

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 was moved to comment by the point about democracy. That was a crucial issue in terms of austerity and the democratic crisis that we have seen across Europe in terms of disengagement and disenfranchisement. How important is it that citizens see that they can influence economic policy and that if they vote for something that is of importance to them, as described by Dr. Ehnts, that...

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 am happy to yield to Senator Sherlock because I know that she has looked into the area of public investment as well. On a practical level, I would like to hear Dr. Ehnts outline the timeline for a review of economic governance. There are very practical questions. I think that Dr. Ehnts and over 99 institutions, academics, NGOs and others have signed a letter that says, for example,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Aligning Disability Services with the UNCRPD and Considering Future Innovation and Service Provision: Discussion ^ (2 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank the Chair and my colleagues. Dr. Pender has answered one of my questions about what happens after the hospital and after the rehabilitation period. That is something on which I have had feedback. It is as if you get to a certain point and almost your whole job is rehabilitation and everything is focused on that. Then you are back into day-to-day life, with all of its very different...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Aligning Disability Services with the UNCRPD and Considering Future Innovation and Service Provision: Discussion ^ (2 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: If copies of some of those submissions are available, that would be very useful.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Ombudsman and Information Commissioner: Commissioner Designate (9 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank Mr. Deering. I would like to speak to a number of the cross-cutting areas and then I will finish with a number of specific issues I hope Mr. Deering might consider. I am sure there are many issues coming his way. A concern I have heard a lot from very different areas and places is in regard to the information component of Mr. Deering's role, including that in the move to gov.iea...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Ombudsman and Information Commissioner: Commissioner Designate (9 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The area of gov.ieis one that might need work in terms of that argument. Mr. Deering mentioned that he will be focusing on information that will be public information. However, I believe that in his role as Ombudsman there is other information that he should or might need to have access to, including in regard to tendering and commercial sensitives. I am conscious that there are areas, for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Personal Transport for People with Disabilities: Office of the Ombudsman (16 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank the Ombudsman and welcome him back. We have taken on our previous engagement with him and we have been pressing in regard to the Wasted Lives report. I have had the opportunity to meet the next Ombudsman through the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure Reform and Taoiseach. At that committee I was glad to see there was a commitment to follow through on all the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters: Personal Transport for People with Disabilities: Office of the Ombudsman (16 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank Mr. Tyndall.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Ombudsman and Information Commissioner: Commissioner Designate (9 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I congratulate Mr. Deering and look forward to his service in this important role. I begin by acknowledging his predecessor, Mr. Tyndall. I also sit on the Joint Committee on Disability Matters and we recently had a strong engagement with Mr. Tyndall in respect of his report on those aged under 65 being placed in nursing homes and the very incremental movement on that. I would like Mr....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Ombudsman and Information Commissioner: Commissioner Designate (9 Dec 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: On procurement, Mr. Deering might follow up on another point to confirm that he can investigate procured services as well as direct services.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Discussion (11 Jan 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank all of our witnesses for attending. I have lots of questions but will leave some of them for the second round. I want to focus on two core issues. The first is the core considerations in the development of the carbon budgets and specifically the question of climate justice. To be frank, I was a little disappointed with the climate justice aspect, which there is an obligation to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Discussion (11 Jan 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: If I could just have-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Discussion (11 Jan 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I would specifically like an answer to that question because I am concerned about the climate justice issue. It is important not just from a climate justice perspective but because it throws off the modelling. For example-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Discussion (11 Jan 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It would not be consistent with the ultimate objective if the modelling is wrong.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Discussion (11 Jan 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: We have limited time and others will want to come in. I am not actually asking about the just transition. I am very interested in that area but I am concerned specifically about the assumption in the modelling of our compliance with the Paris Agreement. There are a lot of important policy and sectoral points but I am talking about the assumptions that have gone into the modelling.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Discussion (11 Jan 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: My first follow up point is very important with regard to that Paris Agreement test being developed and used in the development of the budgets. I wish to be clear about the Paris test and the assumptions in it. I am not just concerned about it because it is climate unjust, for example it assumes that Malawi, which has 0.3 tonnes of carbon per person, has the same responsibilities,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Discussion (11 Jan 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: My final point on this is that I am happy to have this in writing, because I know that people have already responded. My other point is a simple factual straight question. I raised this issue previously with Ms Donnelly when she spoke to us. My concern is that the climate action plan seems to suggest that many of the actions relating to forestry specifically might bear fruit in the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Discussion (11 Jan 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am specifically asking, in relation to the carbon budgets, if the forests planted during this budgetary period would be counted within this budgetary period or would they only be counted when the sequestration has actually occurred?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Discussion (11 Jan 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I know it did. I have read the document whereby it was mentioned, but part of that document also talks about other incentives, which I would certainly support. I just want to know if it is part of the calculations.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Carbon Budgets: Discussion (11 Jan 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I did not get the answer, Chairman, to one question. I am glad that the regulations do not include the full counting but I wanted to ask because it would mean that we were not compatible with the 51% in 2030 in the legislation if emissions are sequestered from after 2030, was this potentially being modelled or calculated in the carbon budgets tonnage. Again, it sounds like that is perhaps...