Results 1,241-1,260 of 8,768 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 20: In page 32, between lines 11 and 12, to insert the following: “(d) specify the manner in which the objectives, intended outputs and related strategies of the Authority have been subject to gender and equality proofing,”. Amendment No. 20 seeks to amend section 37(4) to provide that the board's statement of strategy would specify the manner in...

Seanad: Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 22: In page 35, between lines 6 and 7, to insert the following: “(b) statistical data in relation to participation in and financial benefit from the automatic enrolment retirement savings system disaggregated on the basis of— (i) gender; (ii) class; (iii) disability; (iv) ethnicity; (v) marital status; (vi) family status and; (vii) history of...

Seanad: Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 23: In page 35, between lines 6 and 7, to insert the following: “(b) statistical data in relation to participation in and financial benefit from the automatic enrolment retirement savings system disaggregated on the basis of— (i) gender; (ii) disability; (iii) ethnicity; (iv) marital status; (v) family status and; (vi) history of engagement in the...

Seanad: Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 24: In page 35, line 7, before “statistical” to insert “disaggregated”.

Seanad: Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No 25: In page 35, between lines 24 and 25, to insert the following: “(e) the gender and equality impact of the automatic enrolment retirement savings system;”.

Seanad: Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 26: In page 35, between lines 24 and 25, to insert the following: “(e) the ability of the Authority to ensure that investments are made on an ethical basis in line with domestic and international law;”.

Seanad: Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 27: In page 35, between lines 24 and 25, to insert the following: “(e) the ability of the Authority to ensure that investments are made on an ethical basis in line with best practice and domestic and international law;”.

Seanad: Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: This amendment addresses the same issue that I seek to amend in a number of my amendments as well. Senator Sherlock was highlighting the issue of the age threshold of 23 for starting payments and the income threshold of €20,000 in terms of the making of payments. This will see low-income workers and those who are without a university education, in effect, excluded from the scheme....

Seanad: Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I was speaking to the issues raised in amendment No. 34 from Senator Sherlock. The issues are similar to those addressed in amendments Nos. 37 and 38 but they are not grouped. I checked to see if they were grouped but apparently they are not.

Seanad: Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 37: In page 44, between lines 30 and 31, to insert the following: “(c) the gender and equality implications of the prescribed age and prescribed amount;”. Amendment No. 37 seeks to amend section 56(2) by inserting a new paragraph providing that when making decisions on the prescribed age and earning limits under the scheme the Minister would have...

Seanad: Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 38: In page 45, between lines 5 and 6, to insert the following: “(3) In making determinations under subsection (1), the Minister shall have due regard, to the need to ensure that persons availing of carers allowance, the one-parent family payment, disability allowance or the working family payment have equitable access to secure pensions.”.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy as it relates to Consumer Durables: Discussion (18 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Let me pick up on that. One of the discussions has been on community engagement. With respect to the community-led approach and the kinds of initiatives we have been hearing about, such as social enterprise and community-led initiatives, I agree there is almost a co-benefit, as has just been described. It is seen as a positive and as something connected to a community. That is slightly...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy as it relates to Consumer Durables: Discussion (18 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: There are VAT measures that could be looked at in terms of incentives in relation to that. I did want to pick up on the paint piece as well and on procurement, but I might come back to that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy as it relates to Consumer Durables: Discussion (18 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: On the procurement piece, there are a couple things. We mentioned the paint project as a very good example of Fingal explicitly putting out a tender for recycled paint. However, in procurement we could have a price-to-quality ratio approach rather than a lowest-price model one. Reuse could be identified and named as a quality factor that gives advantage when tendering for any project. If a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Circular Economy as it relates to Consumer Durables: Discussion (18 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Could I just put one question? I do not need to get an answer, but it is just if the witnesses are sending us supplementary information. It is the question around the co-benefits of community, social or locally-led enterprises. That could be pooled risks and pooled supports with things like insurance while having that community or social enterprise. If there are co-benefits to scaling up...

Seanad: Address to Seanad Éireann by Former President Mary Robinson (12 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: When I met Mary Robinson first it was in relation to climate justice, which is the next step from all the issues of social justice that Senator Flynn just spoke about. If we are talking about action on climate change, we need to talk about climate justice and the commitments that are in the Paris Agreement, namely, the common but differentiated responsibilities. Those are around the...

Seanad: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (12 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 1: In page 8, between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following: “(3) In developing the investment strategy for the FI Fund, the Agency shall act in a manner consistent with obligations under— (a) the Cluster Munitions and Anti-Personnel Mines Act 2008, and (b) the Fossil Fuel Divestment Act 2018.”

Seanad: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (12 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Amendment No. 1 seeks to amend section 7 of the Bill by inserting a new subsection which would require that, in developing the investment strategy for the future Ireland fund, the agency would act in a way consistent with obligations under the Cluster Munitions and Anti-Personnel Mines Act 2008 and the Fossil Fuel Divestment Act 2018. Amendment No. 7 would insert a new section in the Bill...

Seanad: Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024: Report and Final Stages (12 Jun 2024)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I regret that the Minister is not able to accept any of the amendments. Under the existing mechanisms, greater scrutiny and application is required. Especially on amendment No. 7, it was not that there should not be investment but the question is how this is being done. How is compliance being secured? The Minister did not address the issue I highlighted in some detail of the ammunitions...