Results 2,141-2,160 of 8,482 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Dec 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Perhaps it has. That is great.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Dec 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am looking forward to the engagement, which will be useful. I commend Senator Craughwell on bringing forward the amendment. The proposal has support from across the Houses. There is a related issue which the Minister may not be able to address. We have seen improvements in the conditions for people working in the Houses of the Oireachtas. They are workers and that point has been well...

Seanad: Quality in Public Procurement (Contract Preparation and Award Criteria) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (13 Dec 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 1: In page 7, to delete lines 32 to 40, and in page 8, to delete lines 1 to 23 and substitute the following: “Compliance with Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014 and related matters 5.(1) Where, in performing its functions for the purposes of section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014, a public body within the meaning...

Seanad: Quality in Public Procurement (Contract Preparation and Award Criteria) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (13 Dec 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth. I am delighted to have the opportunity to move forward with this legislation. This amendment seeks to replace the existing section 5 of the Bill. It responds to reasonable concerns that the Minister of State's office and Department raised about the previous version of this section, which looks to ensure we report on compliance regarding human...

Seanad: Quality in Public Procurement (Contract Preparation and Award Criteria) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (13 Dec 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 2: In page 8, to delete lines 29 to 41 and substitute the following: “foregoing such guidelines shall include— (a) guidance concerning the use and incorporation of qualitative, environmental, social, human rights and equality considerations in the preparation of the procurement procedure of such contracts, (b) examples, for contracting authorities, of...

Seanad: Quality in Public Procurement (Contract Preparation and Award Criteria) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (13 Dec 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Amendment No. 2 follows discussions that I had with the Minister of State's office and officials. I have looked at my own legal advice and how to strengthen the Bill afterwards. I am confident about the provisions under sections 3 and 4. I believe they are well balanced and give a suitable level of discretion to public authorities with regard to how they apply the legislation. I was...

Seanad: Quality in Public Procurement (Contract Preparation and Award Criteria) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (13 Dec 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank the Minister of State and his staff for their very constructive engagement. I look forward to continuing that engagement, from a slight distance, as the Bill progresses through the Dáil.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: The Role of the Media and Communications in Actioning Climate Change: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Dec 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: There was a good question from Senator Pauline O'Reilly that did not really get an answer. Perhaps it cannot be answered or perhaps the committee could get a written answer in respect of what the safeguards are around the influences between advertising and editorial content and what the mechanisms are. The witness spoke about them being separate but it is clearly an area of interest. It...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: The Role of the Media and Communications in Actioning Climate Change: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Dec 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: If something is going to cost €100 million, that will get covered as part of the story. How do we have the carbon impact covered as part of the story? My other question is about RTÉ's link with other international public service broadcasters because this is an international issue. Can that be strengthened?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: The Role of the Media and Communications in Actioning Climate Change: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Dec 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: My question involved the move towards the measurable. For example, if a project cost €1 billion, one would talk about it costing €1 billion; similarly, weaving in the measurement of carbon impact, one would say the carbon impact was this or that when talking about projects that are not necessarily climate projects. It is about making it a standard piece of information attached...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: The Role of the Media and Communications in Actioning Climate Change: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Dec 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Due to the climate justice issue, it should also involve developing countries, not just looking to where the money is for co-production but also where the story is-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: The Role of the Media and Communications in Actioning Climate Change: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Dec 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I want to follow up with Mr. Bromwell on the global network. The point I spoke about earlier was on links with other public service broadcasters, including in developing countries. Very often the international aspect only gets covered at EU Ministers' meetings or at the COP. However, on the ground in Europe or across the world where the impacts are, RTÉ has the potential, as a public...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: The Role of the Media and Communications in Actioning Climate Change: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Dec 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: That is interesting.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: The Role of the Media and Communications in Actioning Climate Change: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Dec 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: There is a great diversity of perspectives within rural Ireland of course as well. Some very large lobby groups can tend to be the go-to in that regard, when we know some of the strongest climate activists one can find are in rural Ireland.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: The Role of the Media and Communications in Actioning Climate Change: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Dec 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It is that question of the different cogs in the machine. We have focused a lot on self-regulation, which of course is the ASAI, but the key focus, and what we need to examine is the regulations. They are, of course, a harder and a stronger tool in that regard. We have discussed a ban on fossil fuel advertising and certain forms of automotive advertising and I am very sympathetic to the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: The Role of the Media and Communications in Actioning Climate Change: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Dec 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: My question is for the representatives of both Purpose Disruptors Ireland and the ASAI. When we seek to have new media codes, self-regulation should surely be ahead of what is required. If we raise the bar on all the hard regulation, do we then need the industry to be steps ahead so it moves almost beyond the law, with incentivisation beyond the legal requirements?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: The Role of the Media and Communications in Actioning Climate Change: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Dec 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: We have focused on the lifestyles but, at other sessions on communications, we heard about the focus on the individual as opposed to the focus on the collective.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: The Role of the Media and Communications in Actioning Climate Change: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Dec 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Maybe I could get an answer on the other question. How do we move to a systemic change from the individual narrative?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: The Role of the Media and Communications in Actioning Climate Change: Discussion (Resumed) (13 Dec 2022)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Could the delegates respond later on the collective narrative by comparison with the individual narrative, if there is an opportunity?