Results 1,721-1,740 of 8,196 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee Stage (31 Jan 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 10: In page 12, line 6, after “opinion” to insert “, including that of service providers working in the area of domestic violence”.

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee Stage (31 Jan 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 11: In page 12, between lines 9 and 10, to insert the following: “(fa) the views of service providers working in the area of domestic violence;”.

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee Stage (31 Jan 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 12: In page 12, line 13, to delete “in loco parentis” and substitute “providing parental care”.

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee Stage (31 Jan 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I support these amendments. I have similar amendments to the section on remote working. The detailed points made by Senator Currie and, though blunt, the wide frame of amendment No. 15 are important. Despite its Title, the Bill's contents are actually about needs – the urgent needs of those suffering domestic violence, the urgent need to medical care and the need to care. That is...

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee Stage (31 Jan 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 17: In page 13, line 24, to delete “shall” and substitute “may”. The Minister spoke about the review. In a way, we have already had a trial period because of Covid. I worry that if we lower our ambition for two years and let the status quo sink back in, we will be on the back foot. We had a trial period for remote and flexible working...

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee Stage (31 Jan 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Do they? Is that the argument for the provision relating to 16 years? I was concerned that there was a state of limbo where children reach the age of 16. Even in that circumstance, the child is still a minor. I refer to children with a disability.It could be that two years of having to make complicated special arrangements is exactly what makes a parent who is balancing out the cost of...

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee Stage (31 Jan 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The problem is that the "shall" sends a signal that the arrangement must terminate. A simple thing would be to use "may" to indicate it may be reviewed at that point and then continued rather than providing that it shall end not later than the child's birthday. This sends a very strong punctuation piece and would become the de facto end so that people would not get flexible leave...

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee Stage (31 Jan 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It is the intersection. I was trying to see how it intersects.

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee Stage (31 Jan 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will take it from the Senator.

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee Stage (31 Jan 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 20: In page 13, to delete line 35.

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Committee Stage (31 Jan 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 21: In page 13, line 35, to delete “16 years” and substitute “18 years”.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Engagement with the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (31 Jan 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I might follow up on the questions about the subsidies. It is striking that households and families have been subsidising 1,500 of the largest energy users for 12 years. Some clear questions have been asked, so I will try to add something different on top of them, to look at how this happened not just over 12 years but in particular over the past three or four years. Over the past three...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Engagement with the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (31 Jan 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: One of the things that was happening during that period of time was the consultation that CRU had in relation to data centres. In that consultation, CRU was discussing whether there should be a continued expansion of data centres in the context of the electricity demands that come with that. Again, obviously one of the factors that would have been relevant in such a consultation was the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Engagement with the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (31 Jan 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am speaking specifically about data centres.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Engagement with the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (31 Jan 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: With respect, the context was not that different in that we still had the climate goals and were in a climate crisis. In the public consultation, it was one of the issues that was raised strongly. Again, in 2021 two decisions were made. First, there was an option to have a moratorium on new connections until we had full safety but the decision was made to continue with new connections but...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Engagement with the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (31 Jan 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I have a final question.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Engagement with the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (31 Jan 2023)

Alice-Mary Higgins: My very final one is about-----