Results 181-200 of 658 for speaker:Emer Higgins in 'Dáil debates'

Ceisteanna Eile (Atógáil) - Other Questions (Resumed) (13 Oct 2022)

Emer Higgins: I welcome that we are able to increase capacity. The baby rooms and the toddler rooms, as the Minister says, are where the new need is arising and coming on stream. We have an under supply of childcare in many areas within my constituency. Newcastle is a prime example of that where many parents are not able to get their children into childcare providers and, therefore, cannot go back to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (13 Oct 2022)

Emer Higgins: I welcome this legislation and the work that the Minister, his Department and the committee have done to shape the scheme. In recent weeks, it has been great to see many people coming forward to register their interest in receiving information on their time in mother and baby institutions and their adoptions. It is fantastic that those records have been made available. I have been...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cost of Living Issues (13 Oct 2022)

Emer Higgins: I thank the Minister for that comprehensive response. It has been an absolutely historic budget. As the Minister said, it has been the largest ever package to get money back into people’s pockets. That has been welcomed by an awful lot of people. The Minister has done a great job of supporting people on low incomes who need help, support and intervention the most. She has also...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cost of Living Issues (13 Oct 2022)

Emer Higgins: I thank the Minister for her explanation on reviews. As I said, a constituent of mine has been in touch on this. She is working two seasonal part-time jobs and she is a lone parent. In situations such as hers and in all situations, we absolutely have to have control measures and means-testing. However, I hope that our means test will not be mean enough to discourage people from going out,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (13 Oct 2022)

Emer Higgins: I thank the Minister for her response. This really was a cost-of-living budget. It was about targeting help towards people who most need it and also providing universal assistance. Every family throughout the country is struggling with the increase in the cost of living. It was good to hear the Minister talk about those low-income families who received the targeted support of the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cost of Living Issues (13 Oct 2022)

Emer Higgins: 11. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will provide a timeframe for the introduction of the cost-of-living payments announced in budget 2023 that are due to be issued before Christmas 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50308/22]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cost of Living Issues (13 Oct 2022)

Emer Higgins: This question relates to providing a timeframe for the introduction of the cost-of-living payments announced in the budget. It has possibly been publicised since this question was tabled but will the Minister talk us through that please?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (13 Oct 2022)

Emer Higgins: I thank the Minister for outlining all the supports and measures that she introduced in this budget. People are grateful for them and they have gone down positively in my community. I thank her for that level of investment. It was interesting to hear the Minister talk about 16 years of age being the cut-off point for child benefit, with an extension once people are still in full-time...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (13 Oct 2022)

Emer Higgins: 8. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her views on the feasibility of extending child benefit to children who are 18 years or over, but are still in full-time post-primary education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50309/22]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (13 Oct 2022)

Emer Higgins: My question is on the feasibility of extending child benefit to children who are aged over 18 years but are still in full-time post-primary education. Is this something the Minister has considered?

Employment Permits Bill 2022: Second Stage (12 Oct 2022)

Emer Higgins: Is that agreed? Agreed.

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Schools Building Projects (11 Oct 2022)

Emer Higgins: I thank the Minister for that response and those helpful updates. Her commitment to delivering for students in Dublin Mid-West is welcome and we all hope those tenders and construction projects go according to plan. I will take the opportunity to put on the record the primary schools in my area that are also due new buildings. Those include Scoil Chrónáin in Rathcoole; St....

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Schools Building Projects (11 Oct 2022)

Emer Higgins: I thank the Minister for taking this Topical Issue at this late hour. It concerns the need to progress the delivery of new school buildings for schools in my constituency. Dublin Mid-West is a thriving and rapidly growing area that includes communities such as Lucan, Clondalkin and Palmerstown, and the communities and villages of Rathcoole, Newcastle, Saggart and Brittas. The need for...

Electricity Costs (Domestic Electricity Accounts) Emergency Measures and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Second Stage (11 Oct 2022)

Emer Higgins: I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on this measure today. In recent weeks we have all started to notice a chill in the air, darker mornings and evenings closing in. For most people when it is colder and darker, we use more electricity. Those spikes in electricity usage are being compounded by the spikes in electricity prices as is being seen up and down the country. Lights are...

Housing for All Update: Statements (4 Oct 2022)

Emer Higgins: As many speakers have noted, it is a year since Housing for All was published. We all recognise there are still significant challenges to overcome. However, it is important to recognise, too, that progress is happening. House completions, commencements and planning approvals are up. An additional 200 staff are being hired by local authorities to deliver on their housing targets. More...

Financial Resolutions 2022 - Financial Resolution No. 6: General (Resumed) (29 Sep 2022)

Emer Higgins: We move to Sinn Féin. I call Deputy Seán Crowe, who is sharing time with Deputies Brian Stanley and Ruairí Ó Murchú.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (29 Sep 2022)

Emer Higgins: I raise a concern around the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill. This concern has been escalated to me by medics who have studied the draft Bill. First, I take the opportunity to say that I am so pleased with this week’s announcement that we will be providing public funding for publicly available IVF for the first time ever. As I said, it has come to my attention that...

Financial Resolutions 2022 - Financial Resolution No. 6: General: Financial Resolution (Resumed) (28 Sep 2022)

Emer Higgins: Despite the challenges people are facing with the cost-of-living crisis, the feedback I have been receiving on the budget has been positive. That is because people, from our children to our older people, are getting the help they need and deserve. Before the summer I surveyed 500 of my constituents across Clondalkin, Lucan, Palmerston, Newcastle, Rathcoole, Saggart and Brittas and I asked...

Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022: Second Stage (Resumed) (22 Sep 2022)

Emer Higgins: I am delighted to see this Bill progressing. It will take vital steps to define categories of harmful and age-inappropriate online content. It will empower the media commission to create binding online safety codes and provide a mechanism for complaints of harmful online conduct. These are all important steps in the correct direction and the Bill is Ireland's opportunity to change things...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Transport (22 Sep 2022)

Emer Higgins: 12. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will adjust the eligibility for the 19 to 24-year-old Leap card to include third-level students who are 18 years old given that many private operators now charge more for a child ticket than a young adult ticket under the newly introduced scheme, resulting in 18-year-old college students who use private operators not being...