Results 1,381-1,400 of 3,425 for speaker:Emer Higgins

Written Answers — Department of Health: Hospital Admissions (28 Feb 2023)

Emer Higgins: 600. To ask the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to a change in the model of care for a hospital (details supplied) from a walk-in urgent care clinic for children to an appointment-only service; the feasibility of changing this clinic back to a walk-in service to better meet parent’s and children’s emergency needs; and if he will make a statement on the...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services (28 Feb 2023)

Emer Higgins: 598. To ask the Minister for Health if he will follow up with the HSE to request that a reply is issued in relation to a representation made to it (details supplied). [9801/23]

Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill 2022: Second Stage (Resumed) (23 Feb 2023)

Emer Higgins: I welcome this Bill and its four main objectives of strengthening the oversight of An Garda Síochána, enhancing its governance, improving our national security infrastructure, and making the safety of communities a whole-of-government responsibility, which is particularly important. It is timely that we are having this discussion given the context of the scenes of antisocial...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Planning and Development Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (23 Feb 2023)

Emer Higgins: I thank the Chair. I also thank all of our witnesses for being here with us today. It is disappointing to hear the Irish Planning Institute's disappointment in not being involved thus far in the Bill so it is great to have the opportunity to be able to tap into the institute's knowledge and expertise in the industry and we will be reflecting that in our own report. The IPI has spoken...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Planning and Development Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (23 Feb 2023)

Emer Higgins: If the review of the development plan process or timeframe goes to ten years, there will be that mid-term review. What would the ideal mid-term review look like from a planning perspective? How long would that take and how would material contraventions or amendments be initiated and how would that go?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Planning and Development Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (23 Feb 2023)

Emer Higgins: On town planners, the Royal Town Planning Institute’s submission talks about planning needing to be a corporate function within local authorities so that it is maximised and utilised to its best degree. I come from the South Dublin County Council area, where we have many strategic development zones, SDZs, and local area plans, LAPs, on top of the development plan. We have a quite...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Planning and Development Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (23 Feb 2023)

Emer Higgins: Is that not happening in local authorities?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Planning and Development Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (23 Feb 2023)

Emer Higgins: Super. The Royal Town Planning Institute’s submission also talks about digital planning approaches. Could the institute elaborate on that and what it would like that to look like in practice, please?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Planning and Development Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (23 Feb 2023)

Emer Higgins: One thing that is a sort of pet peeve of mine is that when a large planning application goes in, which involves boxes of files involving boxes of maps; one has people in county council and local authority offices delegated to spend days on end scanning these into a system. Until these staff members do the scanning, the public cannot see this material unless they go down and physically look...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Planning and Development Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (23 Feb 2023)

Emer Higgins: Does this legislation provide for that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Planning and Development Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (23 Feb 2023)

Emer Higgins: I thank Mr. Jones for that clarification.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Planning and Development Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (23 Feb 2023)

Emer Higgins: I had to step out for the launch of the disability matters report as I am on that committee as well. It serves as a good reminder that we must ensure as we plan for our future and look at county development plans that we are putting people with disabilities front and centre too. I apologise if this was covered while I was gone, but I had a query about the IPI's opening statement. There...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Emer Higgins: My apologies for not being here earlier. I had a clash and then I was speaking in the Dáil so I apologise if some of these questions are repeats. How many tenantin situscheme purchases were there last year and what is the budget for this year? Are extra resources being given to local authorities to complete the purchases.? It is great to hear about the 7,500 to 8000 brand-new social...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Emer Higgins: Do councils have the resources to make it happen?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Further Revised)
Vote 23 - Electoral Commission (Further Revised)
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Further Revised) (23 Feb 2023)

Emer Higgins: The figure of 10% is a lot more realistic and in line with what is happening in the outside world outside of the State. Has there been much inflation on sites where construction workers were on-site and for whatever reason, the council had to re-tender and get a new construction company in? What fluctuations have there been?

Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use: Motion (21 Feb 2023)

Emer Higgins: Citizens' assemblies play a crucial role in driving social and policy change across Ireland. Over the past few years, we have seen how effective they are at starting a national discourse on the issues impacting people and because of that, Ireland is widely regarded as a world leader when it comes to deliberative democracy. The recommendations of previous citizens' assemblies have influenced...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Feb 2023)

Emer Higgins: The programme for Government contains a commitment to review our electoral laws and protect our democracy from external influences like political donations from non-citizens outside the State. At the weekend, there was another revelation regarding Sinn Féin's finances. We heard further contradictions about its electoral spending and more questions were raised about its statutory...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Planning and Development Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Feb 2023)

Emer Higgins: I thank the witnesses for attending and for sharing their expertise. It has been especially interesting to hear from the councillor representatives, given they represent almost 1,000 councillors, who cannot afford to take out the time to read this lengthy draft Bill. I thank them, therefore, for coming and putting their views on record. A friend of mine was recently a member of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Planning and Development Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Feb 2023)

Emer Higgins: I apologise for interrupting but I am conscious of the time. I might bring in Councillor Sheahan and return to Councillor Killian later.