Results 1,181-1,200 of 8,768 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: I have two more questions. Will I put them now so that they get answered, instead of going back to everybody twice?

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: I have two specific questions.

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: It saves the need for everybody to come in twice. This is around planning issues. We talk about housing but actually what we see in the city centre is many empty office blocks. I live in the city centre in Dublin and we are surrounded by empty office blocks. There is that question and there is talk about reusing and repurposing them. There is also the question of appropriate use of...

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: It is not quite on circularity but it relates very much to the environmental footprint of buildings and their design. It relates to that question. I was really answering the point that Mr. Ryan made about the belief that if you build higher, it will automatically be better. In fact, repurposing a development at a mid-level can sometimes be better in terms of light, which has an...

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: It is interesting that Mr. Impoco mentioned the Dutch model, which is what my procurement legislation is based on. It is still about value for money but it is framing value for money within a wider lens.

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: On that storage piece, I am wondering-----

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: My apologies.

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: That was very useful. I just wanted to highlight something. I was going to ask about the methodologies, but that is what the Chair asked about. Has there been engagement around the development of methodology? Has the council or the federation had any engagement with the Government on the question of the new methodologies being formed? How has that gone? What kinds of points have the...

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: Is this to do with certification?

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: Would Mr. Ryan agree that re-certification is a mechanism we need to have for material we reuse?

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: It strikes me it is the big projects where we would probably need it most. Green space is an issue in terms of larger developments. Maybe there is something in that. It was mentioned that materials can be stored for only six months. Is that correct? What is that based on? Is it a rule or is that based on-----

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: It strikes me that on large sites, if there was something that could be stored for longer, for example, within a large development site, then down the line that could potentially be repurposed as being additional green space in the development. It seems a pity to simply have that six-month rule block when there could be quite large-scale use of soil and stone.

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...