Results 1,621-1,640 of 8,196 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Oil Emergency Contingency and Transfer of Renewable Transport Fuels Functions Bill 2023: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 24: In page 14, line 25, to delete “44X”.

Seanad: Oil Emergency Contingency and Transfer of Renewable Transport Fuels Functions Bill 2023: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 25: In page 14, line 26, after “may” to insert “, subject to consultation with the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications,”.

Seanad: Oil Emergency Contingency and Transfer of Renewable Transport Fuels Functions Bill 2023: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 26: In page 14, line 27, to delete “44D,”.

Seanad: Oil Emergency Contingency and Transfer of Renewable Transport Fuels Functions Bill 2023: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 27: In page 14, line 28, to delete “44J”.

Seanad: Oil Emergency Contingency and Transfer of Renewable Transport Fuels Functions Bill 2023: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 28: In page 14, between lines 28 and 29, to insert the following: “(3) In making regulations or orders made under this section in respect of— (a) rates of renewable transport fuel obligation, (b) advanced biofuel obligation, (c) crop cap, (d) high ILUC-risk biofuel, or (e) renewable transport fuel standards, the Minister shall consult...

Seanad: Oil Emergency Contingency and Transfer of Renewable Transport Fuels Functions Bill 2023: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 29: In page 14, line 34, after “the” where it secondly occurs to insert “Minister, the”.

Seanad: Oil Emergency Contingency and Transfer of Renewable Transport Fuels Functions Bill 2023: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 30: In page 16, between lines 20 and 21, to insert the following: “(c) a disclosure of the greenhouse gas emissions, in tonnes, caused by its activities within the State for which the company is responsible, and the measures already taken and planned to reduce greenhouse gas emissions during future reporting periods.”. This seeks to require...

Seanad: Oil Emergency Contingency and Transfer of Renewable Transport Fuels Functions Bill 2023: Committee Stage (14 Feb 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Any emergency Bill needs to exist within the context of the climate emergency. High-profile figures in the oil industry have spoken about their bumper years and infinite future. Once there are emergencies that cause demand, they will be happy to go forever. They are looking at brand new oil fields around the world even though we know we need to keep oil in the ground. In any emergency, we...

Seanad: Communications Regulation and Digital Hub Development Agency (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Feb 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 4: In page 11, line 36, to delete “may” and substitute “shall”. Section 3 grants wide powers to the Minister to make regulations on any other matter referred to in this Act. It is quite substantial. Regulations on any matter was referred to and there are all kinds of things referred to in the Act. Given how wide those powers are, it is...

Seanad: Communications Regulation and Digital Hub Development Agency (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Feb 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: We will come to that. Given there is an attempt to create checks and balances and suitable scrutiny of proposed regulations in relation to certain aspects of the Bill, that seems to be undercut by this general provision under section 3, which says that the Minister can make any regulations about any aspect at all. Why do we have certain sections where the Minister makes regulations and he...

Seanad: Communications Regulation and Digital Hub Development Agency (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Feb 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The problem is that section 3 does not say that there are certain areas in which the Minister will just make regulations. Section 3 refers to regulations in relation to any matter referred to in this Act. As the Minister of State rightly pointed out, there are different requirements and I will come to them in one of my later amendments. There are specific and different requirements in...

Seanad: Communications Regulation and Digital Hub Development Agency (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Feb 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: If that was the case it would not refer to any matter referred to in this Act, it would say certain matters, but it says "any matter". We disagree so that is fine as I can press the amendment.

Seanad: Communications Regulation and Digital Hub Development Agency (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Feb 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 5: In page 12, between lines 5 and 6, to insert the following: “(5) The Minister shall, subject to subsection (7), before making regulations under subsection (1), publish a draft of the proposed regulations on a website maintained by or on behalf of the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications and allow a period of 30 days beginning on the day on...

Seanad: Communications Regulation and Digital Hub Development Agency (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Feb 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: First, I make the point that we have an expectation, whenever a very wide provision is put in, of how it might be used. Expectations are effectively meaningless unless we either clarify how it will be used or we acknowledge that we have left something wide open. I do not see that it might not be used in relation to the same matters because it specifies a "matter referred to in this Act"....

Seanad: Communications Regulation and Digital Hub Development Agency (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Feb 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 7: In page 21, line 7, to delete “shall” where it firstly occurs and substitute “may”. These sections of the Bill are a matter of serious concern. I am surprised they have not got more attention. We are usually very careful of anything potentially seen as interfering with the separation of powers and the due course of our courts....

Seanad: Communications Regulation and Digital Hub Development Agency (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Feb 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The language suggested by the Law Reform Commission, as outlined by the Minister of State, is different from the language used in the Bill. General public importance is very different from exceptional public importance. Exceptional public importance is, by its nature, exceptional, so that it must be shown to be different from other issues of public importance. The interests of justice is...

Seanad: Communications Regulation and Digital Hub Development Agency (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Feb 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 8: In page 21, lines 8 to 11, to delete all words from and including “in” in line 8 down to and including line 11 and substitute “in cases where the High Court certifies that such an appeal would constitute a risk to national security or public safety.”.

Seanad: Communications Regulation and Digital Hub Development Agency (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Feb 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 9. In page 21, lines 9 and 10, to delete “its decision involves a point of law of exceptional public importance and that”.

Seanad: Communications Regulation and Digital Hub Development Agency (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Feb 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I welcome the deletion of the words "public order", particularly as there is a very wide interpretation in that regard. The Minister of State has addressed my concern because what is proposed will be confined to the issue of national security. That is an appropriately high bar. In that context, I am happy not to press my amendment.

Seanad: Communications Regulation and Digital Hub Development Agency (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Feb 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 35: In page 24, line 33, after “Minister” to insert “reasonably”. This amendment again seeks to put an extra requirement on the Minister in terms of requiring a relevant provider or vendor to treat as confidential the existence of the contents of the measure, in circumstances where the Minister considers the disclosure of the measures...