Results 221-240 of 346 for speaker:Jim Higgins

Seanad: Finance Bill 2003 [ Certified Money Bill ] : Committee and Remaining Stages. (26 Mar 2003)

Jim Higgins: There may be some relevance in the Minister's comment that the abolition of the first-time buyer's grant is of lesser consequence in the greater Dublin area – or the Pale, which includes the Minister's constituency – than in County Mayo, for example. A young couple in Dublin will have to spend as much money on carpets, a cooker, microwave oven or washing machine as a young couple in...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2003 [ Certified Money Bill ] : Committee and Remaining Stages. (26 Mar 2003)

Jim Higgins: They were relying on the grant and have suffered as a result of its abolition, irrespective of any later decisions on the part of the Minister. He may have breached Cabinet confidentiality today but did not do so in the run-up to the announcement of the decision. Those who had not signed a contract were caught and are still bearing the brunt of the pain of his decision. The promise to...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2003 [ Certified Money Bill ] : Committee and Remaining Stages. (26 Mar 2003)

Jim Higgins: The people of the town remember the Minister very fondly also. It is a case of mutual admiration. We actually go back a bit in that regard. The Minister still plies his wares in Ballyhaunis. He is a partner in a thriving accountancy firm, Tynan Dillon and Company, which does well out of the local economy, and also sponsors a golf classic in the town every year. There is a need for a radical...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2003 [ Certified Money Bill ] : Committee and Remaining Stages. (26 Mar 2003)

Jim Higgins: I move recommendation No. 11: In page 28, subsection (1)(c), line 48, to delete "€4,000" and substitute "€4,300". Recommendation put and declared lost. Section 9 agreed to. Sections 10 to 13, inclusive, agreed to. SECTION 14.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2003 [ Certified Money Bill ] : Second Stage. (25 Mar 2003)

Jim Higgins: One of the problems one faces as Opposition spokesperson is that if one sketches the gloomy reality of the current crisis in the economy, one invariably attracts the comment that one is playing politics or not acting in the national interest but nothing could be further from the truth. The economy is in big trouble and the Celtic tiger a thing of the past. It is highly doubtful it can be...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2003 [ Certified Money Bill ] : Second Stage. (25 Mar 2003)

Jim Higgins: There was a gain of 29,000 jobs in the public service.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2003 [ Certified Money Bill ] : Second Stage. (25 Mar 2003)

Jim Higgins: There are 29,000 new civil servants.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2003 [ Certified Money Bill ] : Second Stage. (25 Mar 2003)

Jim Higgins: Last week.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Jim Higgins: I second the amendment. I endorse the comments of the two previous speakers regarding the amendments under discussion. We broke last week after a long Committee Stage debate under the clear impression that sanity was prevailing at last and that the amendments we put after consultation with interested parties would be taken on board by the Government. We provided the Government with the...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Jim Higgins: I fully agree on Iris Oifigiúil as a document not in widespread circulation. I have never set eyes on it. However, it is looked upon as a kind of bible – beautiful in terms of knowledge of what is happening, what decisions have been taken and who is responsible for what. Are we to abandon it? I take the point that nowadays we have websites and telephones and that one can look at a local...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Jim Higgins: I attended yesterday's meeting and I was impressed with the case put forward by One In Four. Presumably, as a very well organised group, it has legal advice and knows exactly what it is saying. This group has acquitted itself in a responsible manner and, as head of the group, Mr. O'Gorman has won admiration for the non-confrontational manner in which he has dealt with this issue. He made the...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Jim Higgins: I second the amendment.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Jim Higgins: The existing Act provides for four exclusions and it is now proposed to add a further three – personal records, commercially sensitive information and confidential information. The problem is one of definition. How does one define what comes within these additional categories? Why were they not included in the original legislation in 1997? What has happened in the meantime to bring about a...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Jim Higgins: I second the amendment.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Jim Higgins: The question of the payment of fees arose yesterday during a presentation to the joint committee by Wheel which represents several voluntary organisations. The imposition of a flat fee would cause considerable difficulties for voluntary and philanthropic organisations on which it would impose a considerable cost. What would be the level of the fee? Would this be within the Minister's...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Jim Higgins: The constituent organisations may not be.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Jim Higgins: Nominal.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Jim Higgins: I second the amendment.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Jim Higgins: I agree with the comments of Senators McDowell and O'Meara. Although other sections will have quite considerable consequences, section 12 is the heart of the legislation because it contains its central goals. It is obvious that this section is a response to the Government's panic, which results from the fact that 18 April – which is D-day in terms of the release of documentation that the...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Jim Higgins: I second the amendment. The beautifully constructed phrase and neat contrivance "deliberative process" is the same as asking how long is a piece of string. Deliberative process is an ingenious creation which acts a blocking device when civil servants decide they do not want to release the information on the basis of a deliberative process which can continue indefinitely. I agree with Senator...