Results 2,801-2,820 of 3,479 for speaker:Emer Higgins

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (15 Jun 2021)

Emer Higgins: 329. To ask the Minister for Finance his views on the application of the 5% VAT rate on all period products here (details supplied); if Ireland is maximising the use of the lower VAT rate; the details of submissions made by Ireland in relation to the VAT review; if the submission included period products; and his position in relation to same. [30622/21]

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Code (15 Jun 2021)

Emer Higgins: 351. To ask the Minister for Finance if a parent who is fully financially supporting their child who resides outside of the EU can claim tax relief on their income; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31096/21]

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (15 Jun 2021)

Emer Higgins: 554. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will consider fast tracking the housing assistance payment scheme in local authorities in which there is a backlog of over 20 weeks for receiving the payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30552/21]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Provision (15 Jun 2021)

Emer Higgins: 1061. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if action is being taken to help clear the backlog of construction Safepass course applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31438/21]

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2021)

Emer Higgins: I will speak to amendment No. 189. There is a balancing act between ensuring that the LDA achieves its objective of delivering housing on appropriate State-owned land while also ensuring that publicly elected councillors retain their section 183 authority to determine what should happen on State owned land. Our counsellors and the leadership teams of councils are best placed to determine...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2021)

Emer Higgins: From my perspective, the main difference between what this Government wants the LDA to do and what the Opposition wants it to do boils down to the delivery of homes. We want the LDA to deliver housing on State-owned land and the Opposition does not want it to have that power. That is why the LDA must have the power to act on unused State-owned land, including local authority-owned land. We...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Electoral Reform Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (8 Jun 2021)

Emer Higgins: I thank Mr. Joyce, Mr. Doorley and Ms Lane for being here and for sharing their insights on behalf of the groups they represent. It is evident that they all want the same thing, as does this committee. I refer to having more diverse Dáil, Seanad and county council chambers. The establishment of this commission will give us the opportunity to get a step closer to achieving that...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Public Holidays (3 Jun 2021)

Emer Higgins: 42. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will introduce a bank holiday in the month of July. [2857/21]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (2 Jun 2021)

Emer Higgins: 141. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide the plans and drawings for the new temporary accommodation planned for a secondary school (details supplied) in Dublin 24; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30153/21]

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (1 Jun 2021)

Emer Higgins: I speak to my motion in that same grouping. I am looking for the affordable land value mechanism to be enshrined in the legislation. We all need to have confidence that affordable homes built on public land will be made as affordable as possible. That means having an affordable land value so that the prices reflect the fact these houses are on land which is effectively discounted because...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (27 May 2021)

Emer Higgins: We are all hoping for good news tomorrow and we all want individual training to be able to recommence indoors from 7 June, as planned. I recently received confirmation from the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, that when it comes to lifting restrictions, the guidance for performing arts and dance will be the exact same as for sport. That means we will be treating our children who play...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 May 2021)

Emer Higgins: For me, public land should be used to benefit the public. That means cost-rental, social and affordable housing. It also means supporting people who want to purchase privately like first-time buyers or those who want to downsize. The Minister clearly outlined that in areas like Dublin and Cork where affordable is most needed, it will be prioritised and delivered. He indicated that sites in...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Employment Rights (26 May 2021)

Emer Higgins: All of us know women who have suffered miscarriages or couples who have gone through a miscarriage. If people do not believe they do, it is because those women and couples have not shared that experience with them, which is okay. That is why so many couples wait until the three-month mark to announce their news. The sad reality is that one in five pregnancies ends in miscarriage. As a...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Employment Rights (26 May 2021)

Emer Higgins: I acknowledge all of the work the Minister has done to support families. He recently extended the period of parental leave to five weeks for both parents, which is really welcome and a great way of supporting modern families. As Deputy Carroll MacNeill has said, we now have an opportunity to further show our support for parents by introducing paid leave for early pregnancy loss. It is...

International Travel and Aviation: Statements (25 May 2021)

Emer Higgins: I welcome the European green certificate, which will be a key step towards reopening Ireland. The pandemic has seen us introduce restrictions that we, as a Government and a nation, never imagined we would see. Public health considerations and saving the lives of the most vulnerable among us were always at the forefront of those decisions but we are all looking forward to the day when the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (25 May 2021)

Emer Higgins: 344. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the provision of a new building for a school (details supplied); the timeline for submission of a planning application to South Dublin County Council for a purpose built school on the school site; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27736/21]

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (25 May 2021)

Emer Higgins: I hope that members of the public are not tuned in to this meeting today because so far, it has been an example of politics being put ahead of problem solving. The problem that needs to be solved is the housing crisis. Allegedly, that is the shared priority of us all but here we are, discussing ideology, political positions and specific developments in people's back yards. Deputies are...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (25 May 2021)

Emer Higgins: I learnt a lovely new word at this meeting today from Deputy Boyd Barrett, "sophistry". Deputy Ó Broin himself has engaged in quite a lot of that. I have never been an Opposition Deputy but I guess my point is, if I was, I would certainly be looking to be working collaboratively to improve the Bill, not opposing it every step of the way.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (25 May 2021)

Emer Higgins: I will reply to Deputy Ó Broin, who namechecked me. He mentioned that he was not able to remember anything other than Clonburris, so I will refresh his memory of other developments in the area of South Dublin County Council, of which he was a member. On the council, Sinn Féin voted against Kilcarbery with its 975 homes. The Minister and I visited the site last week. It was great...

Situation in Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel: Statements (20 May 2021)

Emer Higgins: I wish to begin by condemning the violence in Palestine and Israel. I have stood in the West Bank and in places like Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Ramallah. I have crossed the border at Kulandia and gone through the checkpoint alone in the darkness of night. I stood in Hebron during Passover when hundreds of heavily armed Israeli soldiers burst out from a military zone into a Palestinian...