Results 6,141-6,160 of 8,212 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 May 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 18:In page 5, between lines 18 and 19, to insert the following:“(8) Where an area ceases to be designated as a natural heritage area under subsection (3)(b)(ii), without prejudice to turbary rights for household use, commercial harvesting shall not be permitted beyond 2030.”.

Seanad: Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 May 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 19:In page 5, line 24, to delete “includes” and substitute “does not include”. The amendment relates to the fact we have already discussed, which I will not discuss at length again, that blanket bogs were added to this Bill over the course of the debate on it. Blanket bogs have particular environmental benefits and also particular...

Seanad: Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 May 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Nonetheless, the Bill does provide for and set out a route for the de-designation of NHAs, which are blanket bogs. Special SACs are protected under European law. It is not an option for us to de-designate them, so we cannot make too much of a virtue of the fact that we are not doing so. The fact is that there are provisions in this Bill, for example, in section 8(b) relating to blanket...

Seanad: Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 May 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 20:In page 5, line 31, after “function” to insert “and having regard to matters referred to in section 16(6)”.

Seanad: Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 May 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: As I hope the Minister of State may engage with the amendment because it relates to the scientific criteria in section 16(6), I am not pressing it at this point, with the hope that we may have some scope to engage with section 16(6). I reserve the right to bring it back on Report Stage.

Seanad: Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 May 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 21:In page 5, to delete lines 34 to 38. Again, in respect to my colleague, Senator Grace O'Sullivan, and her desire to engage on this issue, I am going to withdraw it for now and reserve the right to reintroduce it on Report Stage.

Seanad: Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 May 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 22:In page 6, between lines 9 and 10, to insert the following:“Report on exercise of turbary rights 5.The Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht shall, within twelve months of the passing of this Act, lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas containing guidelines and recommended thresholds in relation to the exercise of turbary rights including...

Seanad: Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 May 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: If the Bill was confined to the issues of natural heritage and that was its primary and clear focus, I would of course have to accept the Minister of State's points and bona fides. However, it is very clear from the criteria the Minister assigns him or herself for making decisions in this Bill that national, regional, and local economic, social, and cultural needs are placed in the centre of...

Seanad: Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 May 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will make a final comment. The Minister of State referred to the needs of turf cutters, which are clearly at the centre of much of the consultation. They are the stakeholders who have been centre stage in this process. However, if we are talking about the needs of turf cutters then it is not too much to also ask about the responsibilities and accountability of turf cutters. That is what...

Seanad: Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 May 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 23:In page 6, between lines 9 and 10, to insert the following: “Report on intergenerational justice and equity issues 5. The Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht shall, within twelve months of the passing of this Act, lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas considering intergenerational justice and equity issues in respect of bog lands; to...

Seanad: Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 May 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Amendment No. 23 is the core amendment.

Seanad: Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 May 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It relates to the intergenerational justice and equality issues. I will withdraw the amendment and reintroduce it, because if we have seen anything since we last debated the issue, it is that intergenerational justice issues are clearer than ever and the demand for action is clearer than ever. I do not believe the Government can say to the school strikers and others it has had before...

Seanad: Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 May 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am just asking if the Minister of State is willing to accept it.

Seanad: Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 May 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I accept that.

Seanad: Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 May 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I want to ask the Minister of State if he will accept it. Otherwise, I will withdraw it.

Seanad: Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 May 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Am I correct in saying that the amendment was already debated at an earlier stage?

Seanad: Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 May 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: That is why I am not debating it now. I just wanted to check if the position of the Minister of State had changed. That is the only reason I asked.

Seanad: Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 May 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: In that context, I will reserve the right to reintroduce the amendment.

Seanad: Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 May 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 25:In page 3, line 5, after “review of” to insert “raised”.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Common Security and Defence Policy (9 May 2019)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank all those who have contributed. The situation around security events is not a stark one. It is more the case that there are real choices and priorities to address. It is true that Europe came out of a project of peace. The wonderful thing about Europe was that after literally thousands of years of conflict, countries which had experienced in some cases hundreds of years of war...