Results 8,061-8,080 of 8,235 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2024: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (24 Oct 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The Minister mentioned that the rules on procurement are going to change. That is the aspect I am interested in. Will the change relate to the technical specifications or the criteria?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2024: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (24 Oct 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Is the just transition commission going to focus on things like this?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2024: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (24 Oct 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Will enterprise strategy follow the just transition commission?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2024: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (24 Oct 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I think the data centre questions have been well covered. I mentioned the Just Transition Commission. What work is happening with the Department of enterprise in terms of enterprise grants and enterprise structures to engage with the Just Transition Commission as it identifies new or existing sectors that will be key to just transition? Will there be a linking up between the many...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2024: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (24 Oct 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: There was the last question on new areas of public employment.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2024: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (24 Oct 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am thinking about retrofitting, for example. Retrofitting was the example of-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Review of Climate Action Plan 2024: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (24 Oct 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Including potentially public employment.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: COP29: Discussion (5 Nov 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: With regard to the new collective quantified goal, Ireland will have a key role in negotiating and representing the EU position in the discussions. To be clear, among the key obstacles in the EU's position is the unwillingness to declare a goal, although it is called the new collective quantified goal. Subgoals were mentioned. Is it correct there will be subgoals on loss and damage? The...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: COP29: Discussion (5 Nov 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: On where Ireland can come in, Ireland has committed to €225 million. Mr. Fitzpatrick has made it clear that our share of the €100 billion would be closer to €500 million per annum. Interestingly, when loans come through they are very much attached to very strict conditionality to debt repayment. I refer to the pledges and promises that have been made by developed...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: COP29: Discussion (5 Nov 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Ireland could sign up. We would only be signing up in principle at this point.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: COP29: Discussion (5 Nov 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: This COP is primarily focused on finance as opposed to mitigation. Is there scope for progress on the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance at the COP? Will Ireland's credibility be somewhat undermined because we went in with very strong fossil fuel divestment legislation? It is interesting that the fact this may need to be strengthened was mentioned. There is a discussion now about the fact that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: COP29: Discussion (5 Nov 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It is not a subjective view, although the term “fast-tracking” perhaps is. Let us be clear that applications for liquefied natural gas infrastructure would previously have had to go through a local authority and then An Bord Pleanála, whereas they can now go directly to An Bord Pleanála. That is a shorter planning application process than was previously the case....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: COP29: Discussion (5 Nov 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It speeds up the process of planning applications for this infrastructure.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: COP29: Discussion (5 Nov 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: What the Chairman has described is what I have described. We obviously see that differently.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: COP29: Discussion (5 Nov 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It has been a very positive innovation to always have an annual hearing before COP. I commend the Chair on that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: COP29: Discussion (5 Nov 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will quickly mention two things and then I will wait for a third round. The danger of money going the wrong way has been mentioned, that is, the danger of money going to fossil fuels companies and others that have created the crisis. They have got these huge subsidies, as mentioned, of many trillions of euro and yet it seems that a lot of new climate finance is, potentially, being...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: COP29: Discussion (5 Nov 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Is Trócaire Ireland looking for a levy on corporations as part of the new forms of financing and that there is a tax on the fossil fuel industry?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: COP29: Discussion (5 Nov 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: That is really useful because we hear about the many issues developing countries have in accessing climate finance and, in a wider sense, accessing finance from private sources. Those are all issues, even in terms of the credit rating issues, and there are a lot of other things that come in, that can be addressed through the debate on Article 2.1, which is basically improving the way our...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Employment Rights (5 Nov 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. What plans and measures are in place, including legislative measures, to implement the EU directive on adequate minimum wages, which I understand was published in October 2022 and must be transposed into Irish law by 15 November 2024?I am concerned that we have not seen legislative measures and legislation coming through the Houses. I am not...