Results 7,481-7,500 of 8,235 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Committee Stage (29 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 25: In page 21, lines 14 to 16, to delete all words from and including “in” in line 14 down to and including “managers),” in line 16.

Seanad: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Committee Stage (29 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 26: In page 21, line 18, after “description” to insert the following: “following the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform”.

Seanad: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Committee Stage (29 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 27: In page 21, to delete lines 21 and 22.

Seanad: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Committee Stage (29 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 28: In page 21, between lines 37 and 38, to insert the following: “Report on external investment managers 29. (1) The Minister shall, within 12 months of the passing of this Act, lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas outlining how the use of external investment managers for the FI Fund, the ICN Fund and any other funds controlled by the Agency...

Seanad: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Committee Stage (29 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 29: In page 22, line 9, to delete “endeavour to”. Amendment No. 29 seeks to amend section 31(1)(a) relating to the investment of fossil fuels by removing the term "endeavour" and thereby creating a stronger obligation. This relates to the nature fund, a fund that is meant to be for climate, infrastructure and nature. There should be no caveats when it...

Seanad: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Committee Stage (29 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: There are loopholes in this section about getting around having a climate and nature fund that invests in fossil fuels. That is what is happening in this section. The section states that that we should try not to invest indirectly if it is a large part of whatever we are investing in. There is then section 31(3), which states that, notwithstanding sections 1 and 2 where we were going to...

Seanad: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Committee Stage (29 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: We are nearly finished. Maybe we can finish the Bill. I am happy to take a shorter response from the Minister of State.

Seanad: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Committee Stage (29 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 30: In page 22, to delete lines 20 to 29.

Seanad: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Committee Stage (29 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 31: In page 22, to delete lines 27 to 29.

Seanad: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Committee Stage (29 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 32: In page 23, between lines 35 and 36, to insert the following: “Investment in companies operating in occupied territories 32. (1) (a) The Agency shall ensure that the assets of a relevant Fund are not directly or indirectly invested in an undertaking operating within an occupied territory. (b) Where the Agency becomes aware that an undertaking in which the...

Seanad: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Committee Stage (29 May 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 33: In page 23, between lines 35 and 36, to insert the following: “Obligations under Cluster Munitions and Anti-Personnel Mines Act 2008 32. The Agency shall ensure that assets of a relevant fund are not directly or indirectly invested in a manner which would contravene Part 4 of the Cluster Munitions and Anti-Personnel Mines Act 2008.”.

Seanad: Address to Seanad Éireann by Former President Mary Robinson (12 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: When I met Mary Robinson first it was in relation to climate justice, which is the next step from all the issues of social justice that Senator Flynn just spoke about. If we are talking about action on climate change, we need to talk about climate justice and the commitments that are in the Paris Agreement, namely, the common but differentiated responsibilities. Those are around the...

Seanad: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (12 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 1: In page 8, between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following: “(3) In developing the investment strategy for the FI Fund, the Agency shall act in a manner consistent with obligations under— (a) the Cluster Munitions and Anti-Personnel Mines Act 2008, and (b) the Fossil Fuel Divestment Act 2018.”

Seanad: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (12 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Amendment No. 1 seeks to amend section 7 of the Bill by inserting a new subsection which would require that, in developing the investment strategy for the future Ireland fund, the agency would act in a way consistent with obligations under the Cluster Munitions and Anti-Personnel Mines Act 2008 and the Fossil Fuel Divestment Act 2018. Amendment No. 7 would insert a new section in the Bill...

Seanad: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (12 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I regret that the Minister is not able to accept any of the amendments. Under the existing mechanisms, greater scrutiny and application is required. Especially on amendment No. 7, it was not that there should not be investment but the question is how this is being done. How is compliance being secured? The Minister did not address the issue I highlighted in some detail of the ammunitions...

Seanad: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (12 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 2: In page 12, line 30, to delete “commercial” and substitute “commercially, socially and environmentally sustainable”.

Seanad: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (12 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Amendment No. 2 concerns an issue that has arisen in another context. My suggestion is to delete “commercial” and substitute “commercially, socially and environmentally sustainable”. I will give the context. Currently, the agency invests the assets on a commercial basis and seeks the optimal financial return. However, there can be a narrowness sometimes with...

Seanad: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (12 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Sadly, as I said, the current structures have not been adequate to ensure responsible investment. We have seen State investment in undertakings operating in illegally occupied territories. The choice then had to be made to divest from those investments. The initial choice to invest was made under the ESG structure we currently have. It was clearly inadequate. If we are investing in a...

Seanad: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (12 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 4: In page 15, line 40, after “State” to insert “as part of the global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions”.

Seanad: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (12 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank the Minister for his engagement on the issue. This amendment furthers the questions on the climate area. It is quite small but it tries to ensure we do not have an inadvertent narrowing of scope due to the way the Bill happens to be worded. It seeks to provide that designated environmental projects will be for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the State as part of the...