Results 621-640 of 8,196 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy as it relates to Construction Sector: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: At the other end, there is the extraction piece. The Green Building Council in the UK is holding a symposium - I believe it is today - where one of the issues is looking at the extraction of sand from Lough Neagh. That extraction piece is an issue.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy as it relates to Construction Sector: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: That is an area in construction where it is about looking for standards at the production points with regard to what is going into the concrete we export and not just the concrete used in building. The standards that apply in respect of materials at the point of production is another issue that needs to be addressed. I am just trying to get a sense of what the different aspects are. It is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy as it relates to Construction Sector: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am not sure if Ms Jammet has anything to add.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy as it relates to Construction Sector: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: There are little choices to be made, such as not over-using adhesives and repurposing paint where possible, which should become standard practices where possible. The overuse of adhesives instead of screws was mentioned making things more disposable. We are almost into the consumer durable discussion we had.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy as it relates to Construction Sector: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It is like the right to repair but it is also the right to deconstruct - that something should be deconstructable.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy as it relates to Construction Sector: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: On that issue, if something occurs to anybody we would be grateful.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy as it relates to Construction Sector: Discussion (2 Jul 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The environmental aspect is one of the issues that I think has been underestimated.

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: The Future of Local Democracy: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: These are important discussions to have. I lead the Civil Engagement Group in the Seanad. We are a group of four Independent Senators: Senators Frances Black, Eileen Flynn and Lynn Ruane and me. While we are Independent, we have a number of principles in common. One of the key ones - it brought us together, in fact - is the desire to strengthen links between civil society and politics and...

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: The Future of Local Democracy: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I was asked about the hotel tax which, it is important to note, is different from a tourist tax. That was one example. An even more important example was the issue of the vacant and derelict sites tax. If that had been revenue that was coming directly to councils and that councils were able to ring-fence in order to reform and address dereliction that would have been very significant....

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: The Future of Local Democracy: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: There are some new outlets such as the Dublin Inquirer which is a really positive example of something new happening in that regard.

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Implementation of Sustainable Development Goals: Discussion (25 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It is important that does not replace the other parts of youth work, which was the mistake in the past. It all became about the job and not the person.

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Implementation of Sustainable Development Goals: Discussion (25 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am delighted to substitute for Senator Ruane who would like to be here herself. I am delighted that the committee is having these sessions on the sustainable development goals. It is really important, given the key role Ireland played in their negotiation, that we also give leadership around their implementation. Again, 2030 is coming very quickly. I want to pick up on a few of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Long-Duration Energy Storage: Discussion (25 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It is heartening that the technologies, as a collective set, are there. That is clear. It is clear we are not hearing an obstacle. Mr. Smith said in his opening statement that while any one of these solutions might not meet the storage needs, there is a portfolio of relatively sustainable technologies that together can combine. That is very important in the context of something this...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Long-Duration Energy Storage: Discussion (25 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: On the emerging technologies aspect, the witnesses said they are liquid air, compressed air and the new batteries piece. Is that also an investment element?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Long-Duration Energy Storage: Discussion (25 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It strikes me that, as Mr. Smith said, the cost of gas has been so high that this would have been an insurance policy. Back in the day, however, we had the national oil reserve idea and we perhaps need to look to something equivalent in the form of a sustainable energy reserve.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Public Private Partnerships: Discussion (19 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank our witnesses. I will pick up where Deputy Conway-Walsh left off. I feel it was almost a case of two different things being asked for and given. Much of the discussion was around value for money and the review of each project. When how these projects were assessed was being described, it was almost like they were being described as being assessed within themselves. The questions...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Public Private Partnerships: Discussion (19 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Two issues arise with that. One relates to the area of housing leasing. We do not get the property back at the end of the lease. We have been spending on housing leasing and the property is effectively owned by the original owner at the end of the lease, even though they have their mortgage paid by the State. In those contexts, we do not have that return, so it is hard to see how that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Public Private Partnerships: Discussion (19 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Mr. Dorgan mentioned ten years ago, but in the past five years the fiscal context has been completely different. Are the cost-benefit analyses publicly available that look at direct Exchequer versus public private partnerships on any of those 29 projects? Are they published? Will the witnesses confirm we are in a different fiscal context and have been for a few years now?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Public Private Partnerships: Discussion (19 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Thank you.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Public Private Partnerships: Discussion (19 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Either way, it should be part of the comparative analysis.